By Blair Henley
After eight days of play at Roland Garros the men’s draw has been whittled down to 16 of the usual suspects. You know, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray… and Robby Ginepri? Wait a second. He’s ranked No. 98 in the world and has won only one match of the eight he played this season before coming to Roland Garros. And he’s an AMERICAN!
It took five hard fought sets for Ginepri to top 2003 French Open champion and clay specialist, Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4 in the third round. His win was a bright spot for the United States on a damp day in Paris that saw the demise of No. 6 seed Andy Roddick and perhaps more shockingly, the top-seeded doubles duo of Bob and Mike Bryan. Another American, No. 17 seeded John Isner, was eliminated the day before.
Ginepri isn’t a complete stranger to the second week of a Grand Slam. He made it to the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Open and the fourth round of the 2008 French Open, but the neck surgery he underwent just a month and a half ago made this year’s run even more improbable.
“I’m not 100 percent sure the name of it, but they go in and burn a couple nerves in the neck to prevent the brain from feeling the pain,” Ginepri explained. “But there’s no real harm to it, no downside at all, so I went with it.”
The 27-year-old from Kennesaw, Ga., took out another American, Sam Querrey, in the first round and then overcame Potito Starace of Italy before running into former world No. 1, Ferrero. The Spaniard has won 11 clay court titles in his career; Ginepri had previously won 11 matches on the surface.
“I really wasn’t sure what to expect going into this match. I don’t do well with game plans, so I just kind of went out there and tried to apply my game, kind of feel the match as it went on,” Ginepri said. “But it was a tough fight. He’s such a great competitor out there. I knew he wasn’t going to give up after I was up two sets to love. You can never count someone out like that. But I hung in there. I just competed well throughout the whole match. I never got down on myself, and always gave myself another opportunity to see another point.”
Andy Roddick did not show the same resolve in his surprising upset at the hands of No. 114-ranked qualifier, Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia. Gabashvili hit 58 winners in his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 triumph, more than quadrupling Roddick’s total of 14.
Ginepri reacted to being the last American man in the draw: “Obviously you want as many Americans in the tournament as you can, but if I’m the last man standing, you know, so be it.”
He will face No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic next. Win or lose, Ginepri explained why he will always have a soft spot for playing at Roland Garros.
“You see, we share the initials RG.”