Gulbis spoke like a man not complaining for the sake of better treatment just for himself, but like someone who expected more from a sport he continues to hold on to – one that he feels should value all of its protagonists.

“People in my situation have to beg for practice courts to get a court alone for one hour anytime during the day. And then you see seeded players who are there for two hours alone with a coach. How can you compete? We have one hour with four people on court against a guy who has prepared well, everything perfect…” he explains.

“I don’t know how the system works. Are we living in a democracy where everybody is the same or how does it work? If somebody explains this to me then I will understand then maybe when I reach top-10 again then I will act accordingly. But I don’t want to do it.”

Gulbis’ comments did not just describe the situation at the French Open; he says that is the case everywhere.

He has been forced to play qualifying rounds at most tournaments this season, as he attempts to make his way back up the rankings. He knows how far he is from his top-10 days but still is amazed at how quickly people can turn their backs on you.

“I’m playing now qualies, there’s no chance someone will give me a wild card, so I see a little bit… I find that – I am not lucky, not fortunate, but I like this situation. Because when you start young, everything goes your way, you don’t really notice that everyone is kissing your a** for no reason at all, just because you’re a good tennis player and then you supposedly live all your life and you expect brown-nosing from people,” said the 27-year-old, who owns six ATP titles.

“Tennis society has the shortest memory. You play bad for a couple of months and that’s it. Maybe not if you’re top-three or top-four guys who have been playing consistently well for many years then no, but guys like me…

“I don’t want to compare it. But (Grigor) Dimitrov is struggling a little bit, he’s been top-10, he’s a really good player, how long is it going to take people to treat him differently? I’m not sure about this. If he’s going to play another year bad then he’s also in the same position like me. Sometimes it’s unfair but it gets you motivated to get back. But you realise much more the people around you.”

Many are wondering how Gulbis ended up in this downward spiral, unable to string several victories in a row, and the Latvian explained how it is all related to the shoulder injury he picked up shortly after his French Open semi-final appearance in 2014.

He says the shoulder injury became a wrist injury “it’s like one chain and it’s a little bit connected” and the problems have been on and off for almost two years.

Gulbis says not feeling 100 per cent meant that his time on the practice court has been cut down significantly, which has affected his form.

“I was practicing maybe three times less than I wish to practice. And I’m the kind of guy who needs to spend hours and hours on court to get a feeling. When I was playing well I was spending five or six hours on the court on the practice days and that made me feel good. And when I had these wrist and shoulder problems I could spend one and half hours a day, so it wasn’t enough,” said Gulbis.

“In Miami and Indian Wells this year I wanted to withdraw, but my coach Gunter (Bresnik) said I should play because he was there. Which was a wrong decision.

“Then I withdrew from Marrakech and Monte Carlo and I started slowly in Barcelona. I’m happy about the clay season, because okay, Barcelona I lost but it was the first time I played points in the match, since one month, slowly, slowly… Rome was the first tournament where it was okay. Even Geneva last week, I beat (Ricardas) Berankis and then (Marin) Cilic, who is a great player and I lost a close match.

“I need to be able to practice to get a lot of hours on the court, without that… every player is different but I need to get hours on the court, fitness doesn’t help me, I need the hours on court.”

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