Thriving At 30: Gombos Is Out To Prove That It's Never Too Late

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

In Norbert Gombos' home, on the wall behind his bed, is a constant reminder of how far he has come and precisely what he is striving for every day.

It is an abstract painting. More specifically, the trophy from his ATP Challenger Tour title in Orleans, France, in 2017. It is acrylic on canvas, depicting a multi-coloured tennis ball with streaks of yellow dripping to the bottom of the frame.

At face value, it's a beautiful memento from one of Gombos' seven Challenger titles. But for the Slovakian, it represents much more. Exactly three years ago, the victory launched Gombos to a career-high No. 80 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. It was his long-awaited Top 100 breakthrough. Just one year after a surgery had sidelined him for an extended period, the Bratislava native was soaring faster than he could have imagined. But, Gombos would soon come to realize that the fall is even more abrupt than the ascent. All the work to arrive at this moment was followed by a devastating 2018 campaign.

"I had the best moment of my career and one year later, I was almost out of the Top 300," reflected Gombos. "I was expecting too much from myself all the time. I was very frustrated and low."

With the help of new coach Tibor Toth, Gombos was left to rebuild from scratch. The belief in his game and any confidence he had from his Top 100 breakthrough was dashed. Now, that same painting was not only a reminder of the pinnacle of his career, but also a great source of motivation as he sought to rediscover that level.

Toth had guided Dominik Hrbaty and Sergiy Stakhovsky to the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings and he was the man tasked with leading Gombos' resurgence. Three years later, the Slovakian is back. At the age of 30, he is out to prove that it's never too late to realize your dreams.

This week, Gombos is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. Making his Roland Garros debut, not only did he earn the biggest win of his career over World No. 27 Borna Coric in the first round, but he would follow that with another four-set victory over surging #NextGenATP star Jurij Rodionov.

Having entered the tournament without a win on clay in more than a year, Gombos will find himself battling 12th-seed and Rome finalist Diego Schwartzman on Friday. A spot in the Round of 16 is at stake.

"It's a dream," the World No. 106 told ATPTour.com. "I always wanted to play in a Grand Slam. Perseverance and hard work pays off. It's not easy to wait such a long time, but trust me, it's worth it. I'm really happy to have such a wonderful experience in my life.

"I have nothing to lose. Diego is one of the best players in the world. He is close to the Top 10 and just played the final in Rome, where he beat Nadal. So I'm expecting a really tough match. But [the Coric match] gave me a lot of confidence and showed me that I can play my best tennis here."

For more than a decade, Gombos has fought to earn permanent residence in the Top 100 and gain full-time status on the ATP Tour. After having a taste in 2018, the 30-year-old says that experience made him even hungrier to get back there once again.

"After my miserable season in 2018, I thought that I wouldn't be able to play good tennis again. My confidence was gone, but when I changed my coach I started from zero again. I was really happy that I was surrounded with people who always trusted in me even in the bad times - my physical coach David Olasz and my new coach Tibor Toth. They were giving me hope to play and motivated me to work even harder. And now I'm playing the best tennis in my life, so I'm really thankful to them."

Under Toth's tutelage, Gombos found the road back in 2019. He finished the season as one of just three players with 42 match wins on the ATP Challenger Tour, including titles in Bratislava and Winnipeg. And a quarter-final run at the ATP 500 event in Washington - the Citi Open - reignited that spark of competing at the highest levels.

Gombos carried the momentum to 2020, qualifying at the Australian Open and reaching the quarter-finals in Montpellier with an upset of Pablo Carreno Busta. Now, one month after earning his first Grand Slam victory at the US Open (d. Albot), he is rolling at Roland Garros.

"I think the biggest challenge is to move up from the Challenger Tour. I am so motivated to play the ATP Tour events, because it's not easy to get there. The best players in the world are there. That's the biggest challenge, to compete at these tournaments in the big stadiums and against the best players. That's why I want to improve my game as much as I can. I have to fight for every point and every result."

Gombos after winning the title in his hometown of Bratislava

[ALSO LIKE]

Gombos didn't always want to play tennis as a professional. In fact, he did not follow the sport much as a child.

"My father put me on the court and said, 'You will play tennis.'. I said, 'What is tennis?' He was a big sportsman so that is how I ended up here."

He first picked up a racquet at age eight and Gombos admits that while he was not very good in juniors, his father's support motivated him to be successful on the professional stage.

"Years later, I was following a lot more tennis, especially Davis Cup. Our best Slovakian players like Karol Kucera, Karol Beck and Dominik Hrbaty made the final [in 2005] so it was a huge achievement for our country. I was even more motivated after that to be like them and to compete against the top players."

Sitting at No. 106 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, it won't be long before Gombos is once again competing as a member of the Top 100. A victory over Schwartzman would see him return to the club for the first time since 2017... when he lifted the champions' painting in Orleans.

Gombos will face Schwartzman on Court Simonne-Mathieu on Friday afternoon. It will be the third match from 11am.