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Ernests Gulbis Confuses Umpires and Vampires in Wimbledon Press Conference


It's oddly fitting that two of the most outspoken personalities in tennis combined for one of the most hilarious moments in the history of the Wimbledon press room.

Following his first round win against Jurgen Zopp at Wimbledon, Ernests Gulbis was asked for his opinion on John McEnroe's latest controversial comments - namely, that tennis should remove umpires entirely to make the sport "more interesting." Gulbis, who has had some high-profile bouts with officials in the past, should've been a prime candidate for an interesting answer.

Somewhere along the way, however, the two roads diverged. We ended up somewhere else. 

"I am for freedom of choice and I am for, let's say, what's on my mind," he said. "I want to be able to say it. I don't like when people go for popular decisions and popular answers and everybody is trying to be the nice guy. Not everybody is, you know. So why I need to, sorry to say, get s--- for saying my own opinion. I want to be entitled to it. It's as simple as that. There is a lot of people surrounding tennis players who are helping with advice, how to say, even speak with the press, to behave or that, you know. It breaks down a little bit the personality. So, I'm totally for personality. That's it."

When the reporter asked a follow-up question, the lightbulb finally switched on for Gulbis. "My God. Umpires? I thought something else. I thought vampires in the way the people who are surrounding and sucking the energy out of players," he said with a smirk. "That's what I meant. Umpires, no. Without umpires, it wouldn't work."

You can watch the entire exchange here.

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