US OPEN

September 1, 2005

Robby Ginepri

THE MODERATOR: First question for Robby Ginepri, please.

ROBBY GINEPRI: Coming into the match I didn't think that would be the case, but as the match was progressing, I felt if I just held serve and kept making my shots, then good things would happen. And it did.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I was playing at the same time as they were playing. I caught the third-set tiebreaker, but I couldn't tell too much about it.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I was going to play his forehand a little bit more, start him off, get him moving to the forehand side, try to attack the backhand. I think he makes more balls off the backhand side, more consistent, feels comfortable hitting it.

ROBBY GINEPRI: It really didn't come into my mind. Every day is a new day. Everybody can play at the top of their game or at the bottom. You never know what happens until you step on the court.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Yeah, it's weird. Confidence comes and goes. No matter if you're winning so many matches, I still think every day is different, and it depends how you're feeling at that day. You know, I can't focus on if I'm going to be confident tomorrow or two days from now. But I can, you know, guarantee that when I go out on the court I'm going to work as hard as I can and that's all I can guarantee.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Yeah, everything's going smooth. It feels good. It's nice. It's exciting. I've been waiting to play like this for a while. I knew I had it inside me, and just letting it come out now.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I think 180, definitely. I was down-and-out after the French Open, losing pretty badly. In the grass court I was fired up to play it, but that didn't go the way I expected as well. So I just was hoping I could, you know, do some damage on the hard courts and, sure enough, I am.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Not really. Just had to do a little soul-searching and found myself again and believe that I could do it. That was the main thing.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I come down there occasionally. I train in Atlanta, that's where I'm based out of. But three times out of the year I'll probably pop down there and see him.

ROBBY GINEPRI: Right.

ROBBY GINEPRI: He chose to serve.

ROBBY GINEPRI: So, obviously, I was going to try to break him the first game even if I served the first game. But it was a good start for me.

ROBBY GINEPRI: It always helps. It always helps.

ROBBY GINEPRI : No. I usually choose to serve unless, you know, there's occasional matches where I'm really uptight and I'm not feeling that good in the warm-up. Then I'll kind of want to receive, and I don't want to get broken the first game of the match and get down.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Luckily, I can't remember, so it's been a while (smiling).

ROBBY GINEPRI : Not really. I don't really look at rounds to come; I'm focused on the match-up coming. I know Tommy Haas is playing. I'm not sure who he's even playing. I asked my coach, and he wasn't sure.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Schuettler. So it's going to be a tough match again, and anything can happen.

ROBBY GINEPRI : It was a little different, especially out of 128 guys, that you got to play your doubles partner second round. That was a little strange. But I think we're both professionals, and we can put aside the doubles match and the friendship for today.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I'm not sure if they knew each other. I know that, you know, obviously he's from there, and my dad's from there. They could have had some connection at some time. I'm not too sure about the background. I should find out, though.

ROBBY GINEPRI : If they want me to, I will.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Yeah, it seems a little different with how tight it is on the skin. I don't know how that would feel. I'd have to try it out before I'd actually go out in a match and do it.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Down in Key Biscayne. He actually just moved into a nice house with a court in the backyard. So we can train there.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Correct.

ROBBY GINEPRI : He just gave me a different perspective on the game and taken every day working as hard as you can and the days that you don't, make them positive. The days that you're not feeling happy or up for that day, you know, you got to push through it and get better.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Outside of a tournament?

ROBBY GINEPRI : Usually I practice from 10 to 12 in the morning, two-on-ones maybe if there's another guy, and just a lot of drilling, then work out in the afternoon, couple sets, and hit the gym. Get a little lunch hopefully some time between there.

ROBBY GINEPRI : When I slipped outside the Top 100. I didn't -- the match in Newport, I didn't realize that if I didn't win that, the first-round match, I might have had to get a wildcard to the US Open. Someone I think said that after the match, so that was a good wakeup call as well.

ROBBY GINEPRI : I wasn't playing that well.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Yeah, I wasn't that into the game as much as I was starting off. I was taking too many days for granted. You know, after I lost in a tournament, I didn't want to practice the next day, I was in a bad mood. It was a little bit of a nightmare. If I'm going to do something with tennis in my life, you know, I knew that now's the time to do it and you can't wait to be in a good mood. And the days that you're not, you got to push through them.

ROBBY GINEPRI : A little bit of that. I wasn't winning the matches that I thought I should have been winning. I thought I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to do well, and that wasn't any good for me. So now I'm just pretty much relaxed and looking forward to days to come.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Right now, ranking points. I think I have the game to be up there. It's just going to take a little bit of time to get the points that they have.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Definitely I'm a lot smarter upstairs now. I don't make any stupid unforced errors like I used to. I don't check out middle of the points. I'm concentrating. If I'm down Love-40 in the game or if they're up 40-Love in their game, I'm trying to win that one point, just a point at a time.

ROBBY GINEPRI : Yeah, I talked to one.

ROBBY GINEPRI : She has, yeah.