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WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS


August 20, 2005


Robby Ginepri


CINCINNATI, OHIO

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Robby Ginepri. Questions, please.

Q. I think you clearly gained control of that match midway through the first set. At what point did you see the momentum start to swing back in his favor?

ROBBY GINEPRI: I never really felt that it went back to his favor. I felt the match was pretty neutral after the first set. The second set we were on serve. He had some chances to break and got through some tough games. Just, yeah...

Q. Was it just a matter of a few points here and there?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, unfortunately I was up 40-15 in the 5-6 game, so I could have easily put it into a tiebreaker and who knows what could have happened in the breaker.

Q. It was right after the rain delay. Did that throw off your momentum at all?

ROBBY GINEPRI: A little bit. I thought I had more momentum than he did after the rain -- I mean before the rain. After the rain came I was a little flat. But luckily he was serving that game, so I could at least get back into the match without getting my serve broke if that was the case. Happened anyways.

Q. What's your mindset right now? You just took the No. 1 player in the world to three sets. Do you feel pretty good about how things went this week?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Really haven't thought about that. I'm just a little upset right now because it got so close. I mean, of course it's encouraging that I got so close to the No. 1 player in the world, but at the same time I hate to lose - and against anybody, it's no fun.

Q. Was it hard handling his slice backhands?

ROBBY GINEPRI: It was difficult. I knew that's kind of what he was going to do to me, try to bring me to the net and slice to my forehand. But I was prepared for it. It's a tough shot to handle either way.

Q. Did you feel you had a good game plan? There were several things it seemed to us that you were doing: Taking him out wide to the deuce court, playing along the backhand, containing him then suddenly counterattacking. Is that what you were trying to do?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I usually serve out wide on the deuce court side and try to hit the backhand crosscourt, come in, look for that. If the right shot's there, I'm taking it and going for it. So it was pretty much sticking to how I usually play.

Q. Did you feel he was getting nervous?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Not really. It's hard to look across the net and see any reactions from him. But he's been in so many tight matches before, and it was just a matter of holding serve. And didn't come down to me doing that in the last set.

Q. Do you feel you were creating more errors in his game than usual?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah. I haven't played him in a while, so I was ready for this match. Didn't know what to expect but I was just sticking with my game plan, playing how I usually play, and that was good enough to go three sets so... I might have to change something next time.

Q. You obviously kind of rolled your eyes at yourself after some of the errors in the last game. Tell me about the last game. What went through your mind after some of the shots?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, the forehand approach I hit and then he hit the lob over my head was a really big point. It's a lot easier to hold at 30-Love than 15-All. He hit a good forehand inside-out, I should have done more with the shot after I hit when I ran back. And he brought me into the net on matchpoint - really not my favorite place to be. But, you know, passed me and couldn't make the volley.

Q. Earlier on he was shanking some balls out when you were taking the lead. Did you feel that he had settled down later on and was playing better?

ROGER FEDERER: I think he was a little uptight the first few games first set, you know. I know that he thinks I've been playing pretty well so he didn't know what to expect as well. But it was a little gusty out there, so that could have been a factor as well.

Q. How did you keep your emotions in check? You were very close to beating the No. 1 guy in the second set and you could have fallen apart completely in the third set and you didn't. You mentioned that he's been in a lot of these matches and you haven't.

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I mean, if you lose your emotions and just get down on yourself, you're not gonna go anywhere in this game. So you got to just stay focused one point at a time and concentrate on the present and not what just happened.

Q. How difficult was the wind?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Wasn't too bad. A few serves, you know, the toss would get a little drifty back and forth. But overall it was pretty average.

Q. You've beaten a lot of highly-ranked players this summer. Is there a difference when you're up a set on the No. 1 player in the world in your mind out there on the court?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Not really. I was just pretty composed all day today. Nothing seemed to bother me. You know, it's a good sign for me. I've been working on that a lot lately, and I've been really pleased with my demeanor on the court and the way I've been focusing.

Q. How do you work on that?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Just, you know, I've talked to my coach a bunch about it. And I've let too many matches slip by me with me getting upset out there and throwing my racquet and yelling on the court. It's just not worth it. You got to look at that and either fix it; or if you're going to keep doing that, you're not going anywhere, like I said.

Q. You said obviously you're still upset. Do you think you should have won the match?

ROBBY GINEPRI: I mean, it's anybody's match out there when you're that close. I'm not saying I should have, but I felt I needed to get into the tiebreak in the third set. I didn't feel I was going to break him because I wasn't winning too many first points on his serve or any points in the game. But, you know, I thought I was playing good enough to win the match; I don't know if I should have.

Q. Was there anything else you could have done?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Made that backhand volley.

Q. What are your plans leading up to the Open?

ROBBY GINEPRI: I'm going to go home for a few days, relax, and get up to New York next week.

Q. Will you beat yourself up over this tonight, will you congratulate yourself for coming so close, or will you just go to a movie and forget the whole thing?

ROBBY GINEPRI: No, I'll look at this tournament and be extremely pleased. You know, for me, it's upsetting a couple hours after the match. I'll get over it and realize what a great week I've had. So I'm not going to beat myself up.

Q. People, when they talk about the big servers, probably think of the guys that hit it the hardest. He hit 12 aces today. What do you think of his serve? Is it a little underrated?

ROBBY GINEPRI: It is. He's got so much variety and it's so tough to read it. He spins it, kicks it, hits it flat, he mixes it up. He throws you off all the time. You've got to be ready for anything.

Q. What's the biggest thing you've learned about yourself this week?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Just that I compete -- you know, if I compete 100%, good things are going to happen.

Q. Is this the best that you've ever played, this and sort of the previous three or four weeks?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, leading up to the summer, with Indianapolis, I thought I played pretty well there. This tournament I've been playing really consistent, and that's been the big difference. I know I still have some things to work on in my game and I know I can play better as well, but at the same time I'm really happy with the way I played.

Q. Can it be a platform for the near future and further on?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Definitely I need to work on the volleys. I've been struggling with that since I've -- pretty much all my life. I've been more of a ground stroke guy. But I've been working on coming into the net. And serve can always get better.

Q. Do you have any specifics of goals ranking-wise, Grand Slam-wise?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Not really. I just want to take one match at a time, day at a time, and keep getting better. That's the main goal.

Q. You haven't sort of set like Top 20?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I'd like to get Top 20 at the end of the year, but setting no expectations for it. If I'm working hard and playing hard, I think good things will happen and I'll be where I want to be at the end of the year.

Q. In the two service games you lost, did you feel nervous at all?

ROBBY GINEPRI: Not really. The forehand I sprayed wide, and the 5-6 game was a little nervous. But besides that I wasn't too bad.

Q. Can you talk about the difference it seems like in your game from when you were ranked 25 in the world, it looked like you felt you had to go for a lot more winners; now, you didn't look like you had to go for a lot of winners. That's a huge maturity, isn't it?

ROBBY GINEPRI: It is. I've been playing within myself, is what my coach has been saying. The whole time I've had this in me, but I just couldn't find it. Now I'm letting myself make more shots and waiting for the right ball to go for if it's there.

End of FastScripts….

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