PHOTO OP: Gulbis breaks through in Paris but can he take down Nole?

Latvia's Ernests Gulbis is ready for his close-up.

The 19-year old giant-killer continued his remarkable run at the French Open making his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by hitting 11 aces and defeating Frenchie Michael Llodra 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3. He'll face Aussie Open champ Novak Djokovic for a place in the semifinals.

Nole, for his part, won't be taking this match lightly. The Serb spent time and practiced with Ernests a few years back at Niki Pilic's tennis academy in Munich, Germany and said,

He was destroying me in practices. I couldn't win a match. Practice? No chance.

But what about Ernests' current on-court success? The lass from Latvia puts it down to pure and simple hardwork and smarter tennis:

I practised well for three weeks and worked on my physical condition and I changed some tactics. For example, one year ago I was playing some pretty stupid clay-court tennis. I'd go for winners when I didn't need to and it was more hard-court tennis.

Could there be an upset brewing on the red clay of Paris? Stay tuned.

*Via Down the Line!

(image via Getty)