Robby Ginepri–the pride of America? He is today, after stunning 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in 5 sets earlier today at Roland Garros. It isn’t as though Ginepri hasn’t had some success on the big stage. Ginepri advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open in 2005, where the dream run was ended by Andre Agassi. Ginepri has also made the round of 16 at Wimbledon, the Australian, and now the French Open twice (2008, 2010).
But Ginepri, 98th in the world last Monday, did drop off the face of the earth after climbing to # 15 in the world in 2005. His game has improved dramatically since Jose Higueras, one time coach of Roger Federer (Higueras coached Federer and Ginepri simultaneously) and long time coach of Jim Courier, took over in 2008. Though Ginepri hasn’t seen a great improvement in his ranking–yet. Check out the match stats from Ginepri-JCF today, which Ginepri won after winning the first two sets, and then dropping the next two, before rallying to take the match in the fifth set.
| Ferrero (ESP) | Ginepri (USA) | |||
| 1st Serve % | 107 of 140 = 76 % | 106 of 152 = 70 % | ||
| Aces | 5 | 5 | ||
| Double Faults | 1 | 2 | ||
| Unforced Errors | 46 | 51 | ||
| Winning % on 1st Serve | 66 of 107 = 62 % | 62 of 106 = 58 % | ||
| Winning % on 2nd Serve | 19 of 32 = 59 % | 28 of 44 = 64 % | ||
| Winners (Including Service) | 33 | 43 | ||
| Receiving Points Won | 62 of 152 = 41 % | 55 of 140 = 39 % | ||
| Break Point Conversions | 7 of 15 = 47 % | 7 of 12 = 58 % | ||
| Net Approaches | 11 of 16 = 69 % | 9 of 17 = 53 % | ||
| Total Points Won | 147 | 145 | ||
| Fastest Serve Speed | 193 KMH | 197 KMH | ||
| Average 1st Serve Speed | 168 KMH | 172 KMH | ||
| Average 2nd Serve Speed | 145 KMH | 139 KMH | ||
Even if Ginepri loses to 3rd seed Novak Djokovic in the next round, he should jump up the rankings. Ginepri, the ultimate grinder, out grinded a major champion today. Can he do it again on Monday? That remains to be seen. Still, Ginepri has had the most successful 2010 French Open of any American male, and is the only American left in the men’s draw.
–Crack (
http://crackbillionair.wordpress.com
)
