Board games, Spain, and heel biting each other – Lithuanian tennis talents grow together

Before the draw ceremony at the Čair Arena in Niš, four Lithuanians stood one behind the other, massaging each other’s shoulders and laughing.

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“Very good,” was satisfied the first in line, national team coach Laurynas Grigelis.

It was a good illustration of the current Lithuanian tennis team.

The ages of the four players range from 21 to 24 years, plus the 35-year-old captain L. Grigelis. It seems that this is not only a professional team but also a group of good friends who came to Niš to make noise, challenging one of the strongest tennis countries in the world – Serbia – in the Davis Cup matches this weekend.

“We had a group dinner in the city, but spent most of the time in the arena, as well as in the hotel playing board games,” said Edas Butvilas. “The team aura feels very good, we are well prepared.”

Fierce healthy competition

The Lithuanian tennis team is young again with two promising leaders at the forefront.

21-year-old Vilius Gaubas and 22-year-old Edas Butvilas will play as the first rackets in the singles first matches against Serbia on Saturday.

It reminds L. Grigelis of something.

For many years, he himself and Ričardas Berankis were the leaders of the Lithuanian tennis team when the team led by young players began to climb the Davis Cup hierarchy.

“There are many similarities,” smiled L. Grigelis. “It’s very nice to see how they play against each other during training, not wanting to give in to one another. I remember that in our training with Ričardas it was the same – just not to lose to the other. It’s a very good healthy competition.

Now we are a young but strong team that can improve.”

V. Gaubas and E. Butvilas really compete fiercely with their rackets against each other.

It has been like that since childhood when V. Gaubas from Šiauliai and E. Butvilas from Klaipėda often met in Lithuanian youth competitions.

Then their duels were fierce, and V. Gaubas felt that E. Butvilas won more often.

In recent years, V. Gaubas has been defeating E. Butvilas when their paths crossed in matches.

Previously testing each other in Alicante, where they both live and train most of the year, they now play seriously against each other less often, but even during training, equal and fierce battles flare up again.

“With Edas, our sets always end 7:6, 7:5, we bite each other’s heels,” said V. Gaubas. “We never want to lose. Especially when preparing for Davis Cup matches, we want to show that we are well prepared. But that competition is healthy, it helps us.”

Satisfied with conditions in Spain

Both Lithuanian tennis players are climbing the career ladder.

V. Gaubas rose to 101st place in the world tennis ranking in March this year and debuted in Grand Slam tournaments.

“I think the season is very good, Vilius already played high-level tournaments last season, but this year he played only in them, maintained a good level, and gradually improved his ranking,” said L. Grigelis. “I think he gained a lot of valuable experience this season because he played against very strong opponents, stronger than last year.”

V. Gaubas plans to finish the long season in November. In the remaining tournaments of the year, he hopes to climb the ranking to be able to enter directly into the main tournament of the most important early next year event – the Australian Open.

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“I didn’t specifically aim to be in the Top-100 this season, I rather want to get into the Australian Open main draw early next year. We always set goals for what we want to achieve, but we focus more on how to improve in tennis,” said V. Gaubas, who showed this season that he can compete equally with high-caliber opponents.

He still considers Spain his sports home, where he went to train at a very young age and keeps returning to Alicante to his team and coach Guillermo Garcia Lopez.

Five years is a long time, but thinking about it, V. Gaubas shakes his head before changes, letting his thoughts go deeper.

“As a tennis player, it’s hard to accept the same words, the same criticism from the same person. But I like being with the same person, there is already a connection,” said V. Gaubas. “I don’t like to change something when I am satisfied, I am happy with my team. Ultimately, my team is an authority to me, so I listen to them. Even when it’s hard to accept something, I try to do it. For now, we don’t plan changes.

The weather conditions there are very favorable, we can train outdoors all year round, no need to go under a roof. Most of my tournaments also take place outdoors, plus there are many other players, coaches, tennis clubs there.”

On the court, V. Gaubas is known for his endurance and ability to defend against opponents’ attacks for a long time and persistently, but he sometimes shows emotions.

At the recent U.S. Open tournament, during the last very tough qualifying match, he vented frustration on his racket, breaking it and subsequently receiving a 2,000 euro fine for it.

“Probably the same minute I regretted breaking the racket,” V. Gaubas explained now. “Sometimes emotions can’t be controlled. It was really embarrassing, I will try not to do it, but sometimes you can’t control emotions. Here in Niš, rackets shouldn’t break.”

The whole team is surrounded by a cozy atmosphere in Niš.

V. Gaubas likes to play computer games, but in Serbia after training he values more the shared leisure time with teammates.

“Activities outside the court help us get closer, feel each other in the team. You can be locked in a room at tournaments all year, but the Davis Cup is a good opportunity to be together, we also play board games, such activities bring us closer,” V. Gaubas said. “Edas brought a ‘Rubik’s’ game with numbers and colors. I wouldn’t say it’s like chess, I think it’s more fun, you can play with four. Fun.”

Hopes to rise further

E. Butvilas is also climbing the ranks this year.

The 22-year-old, 191 cm tall Klaipėda native saw himself this week at 194th place in the world ranking – the highest in his career.

“Edas found more stability,” said L. Grigelis about E. Butvilas. “His results haven’t fluctuated much, which shows maturity. That’s very important. I think he can still rise significantly by the end of this year because he doesn’t have to defend points.”

After the Davis Cup matches, E. Butvilas has planned several Challenger series tournaments in France, Portugal, and Spain.

“I think it’s a good season,” he said. “Not because I reached my highest position, but because I experienced both very good and bad moments, it gives a feeling that I have improved, gone a long way, learned a lot. That’s the most important thing growing as a player.”

He also does not plan to leave his base in Spain, where he is coached by Ivan Navarro.

“We are still young. We have covered some ground, but much more remains. For now, there are no plans for changes,” said E. Butvilas.

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