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U.S. OPEN

August 29, 2007

Robby Ginepri

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Are the lower expectations tough to deal with here? Kind of the lower expectations so to speak? Trying to get your feelings from the business side of all this.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Definitely, it's tough following in the shadows. At the same time we're here trying to do our work, our business. We've trained and put in hours just like them. Obviously it's tough to, like I said, follow in their steps. They've done a lot for American tennis.
But, you know, like Andy's doing a great job, James has been doing a great job. The last couple weeks he's been playing some really good tennis, as well as Mardy stepping up again. A lot of the other young guys are promising.
It's fun out here. I'm playing well again. It's always good to get back in the mix of things.

Q. Rightly or wrongly, in America we don't settle for silver or bronze medals. Is that the American sports psyche?
ROBBY GINEPRI: U.S. has usually dominated in sports in the years past, but I think tennis has definitely been getting better. Obviously all the countries elsewhere, you know, a lot of the Spanish is tough. So it's tough out there, but we're still trying to hold our own.

Q. Been a while since you've won two in a row. A tough season. You can make an argument that you've never played a bad match at the US Open, considering Agassi.
ROBBY GINEPRI: No, even those matches I felt that I hit the ball well. I've always been striking the ball clean here.

Q. What happens when you get here? You're like a different player.
ROBBY GINEPRI: A switch pops in my brain or something that says, Start playing. I don't know. I feel extremely comfortable on these courts. I've always, you know, really strived to do well.
I've watched this tournament growing up for so many years. To actually be a part of it is phenomenal for me.
Why I can't play like this the whole year has definitely been a question out there. You know, got through today and hopefully can keep pushing through.

Q. Do you have some kind of formula you want to use to take what you're bottling here?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Maybe it's the Evian water (smiling).

Q. Given you do perform well here, and it's an American stage, American television, what do you think it's going to take for you to have that breakthrough and that run to go all the way?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Well, this year I've changed coaches, started working with Jose Higueras. Already it's helped out immensely in my game and also the mentality part, which is big out here these days.
I feel more comfortable now on the court than six months ago. I didn't feel like I could keep three balls in play. For my type of game, that's where I need to bear down and really make a lot of shots, play a lot of long matches out there, run guys down.
With that being said, I just got to keep on doing the things we've been working on the last month, carry it over throughout a whole season. It's tough to have a good ranking and establish a name for yourself, do what you want to do to exceed. If you're only playing good tennis three months out of the year, it's not going to cut it.

Q. Do you change your game at all for the US Open based on the surface?
ROBBY GINEPRI: No, usually I try to play the same way I play down in Australia. It's pretty similar conditions. Indoors is a little bit quicker. But at the same time I feel extremely confident out on the court. I like mixing up the height of the ball. The ball is just right in my comfort zone. It's fun when I play matches like I did today.

Q. Is this normally the kind of player that gives you trouble, a little guy with great hands?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, little guy, he's tough. You never know what he's going to throw at you. You know he's coming with a lot of slice and he's going to track a lot of balls down. He puts a lot of balls in play. It can make a headache for someone out there.
But today I just didn't really give him a chance to breathe out there. I was bullying him around the court from the first set.
When a guy can't get his feet set and you don't have any time, it's tough for him to get in his rhythm.

Q. Even though Jose worked with Sampras and many others, he sometimes is tagged as a clay court coach. What makes Jose so special as a coach?
ROBBY GINEPRI: There's a lot of things. You know, he does know a lot about the clay court side. But he moved here, he started doing extremely well on the hard courts, as well.
He's got the knowledge of both, which is definitely going to help out in the long run. He's got the clay court mentality where you work the point over, you do a lot of running. You could see how the point develops. At the same time he knows what you have to do to win on hard court with the pace, with the shot selection.
When you correlate the two together, it stands for a good mix-up.

Q. What are the one or two things he's worked mostly on with you?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Honestly, we've been working a little bit more on the backhand slice and also the volley part of the game. He thinks I should come forward a little bit more.
On the defensive side I need to improve to get back in the middle of points.

Q. How much is it also, from a mental perspective, give you confidence that you can do this, that's you've got the talent, as opposed to just the stroke?
ROBBY GINEPRI: I've seen who he's worked with and developed their careers. Obviously I have a lot of respect for him. He's played the game and had a lot of success as well. So when you're dealing with someone like that, there's really not much you can say. You just listen.
I'm taking everything in just like a sponge, soaking it all up and trying to use it out in the matches.
Today I felt that the words and wisdom that he's been saying the last few weeks have paid off.

Q. How many coaches have there been since Francisco?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Two coaches, Diego and Jose.

Q. Stability at that particular phase of your career, how important is that going to be for you? A couple of changes in the last couple years, particularly when you're riding a streak, does that set you back?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Changing coaches?

Q. Yes.
ROBBY GINEPRI: It's all what the player and coach kind of feel. If there's a staleness there, you're obviously going to want to change it up. For me at the times that I went separate ways, I felt that I couldn't get what I needed to get out of the coach.
At that point, if you're not getting better you're going to get worse. That's where you really got to sit down and look at what areas of the game are you not developing and where you need to be from there.

Q. So what do you think of the contention that actually the best coach in tennis today is Roger Federer?
ROBBY GINEPRI: He's got one of the most unique games out there. He's obviously an all-court player. How he constructs points out there, he has all the weapons to hurt anyone. You know, with him not having a coach, it just shows the game is so mental. It's working for him.

Q. Can just the fact you're playing Roger Federer almost psych out players of your caliber?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Definitely he has an effect right when you walk on the court. He's one of a kind out there. At the same time I've played him three or four times now and I know what to expect and can deal with it better now.

Q. Do you go west or does Jose come east?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Actually his daughter moved to Atlanta so the first training camp we had was in Atlanta. But I think I'll be going out to Palm Springs more.

Q. Long flight?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Long flight. Delta, four and a half hours.

Q. Is coaching overrated, do you think?
ROBBY GINEPRI: I don't think so. If you have the right guy in your corner, it's going to trigger all the right buttons you need to be a successful player.
If you don't have the right guy, you're not going to do well. It's all apples and oranges. If you find someone you like, click with, it's going to be good.

Q. Guys seem to change coaches so frequently, sometimes you have to say, What effect are they really having?
ROBBY GINEPRI: If someone's not playing well they might blame the coach, not what they've been doing. But it's hard to say. Everyone's different. For me it's just trying to find the right guy to take my game to a new level.

Q. You won some pretty crucial tiebreaks when you made your run to the semis. How important is that?
ROBBY GINEPRI: It can go either way. Tiebreaks are definitely a big part of the game. One or two loose points you blow the set, can roll momentum into the second, third, wherever it is.
You need to lock in at that time and take care of business.

Q. Another Southern boy named John Isner.
ROBBY GINEPRI: I played a few junior tournaments with him. He's a big boy. He's got the serve that is definitely helpful. I wish I could use some of those bombs when I need them out there. He showed some promising talent already. Looking forward to see how he does here.

Q. What was he like as a junior?
ROBBY GINEPRI: He was pretty tall obviously at the age growing up. I didn't really watch him play too much. I've heard a lot of good things when he was at Georgia playing, hard worker. Looking forward to his career.

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