US OPEN

September 1, 2006

Robby Ginepri

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Are we seeing the start of another possible run here?
ROBBY GINEPRI: That would be nice to see. I would definitely take that again. Played pretty well today. Felt confident out there. Nothing that I did today felt wrong. So those days are definitely good to have.

Q. In a way, you and Mardy are sort of in the same situation. You're beating players that are ranked 40 to 60, around that area, and both looking for that one really big win to get a bump up. You had a chance against Andy Murray a few weeks ago. Didn't come through on that one. Now you've got Tommy Haas. The challenge of that match and the importance of winning that match?
ROBBY GINEPRI: It's just another match. Doesn't matter, you know, what he's ranked or who he is, you got to get through it.
I've beaten a lot of top players, so I don't think it's fair to say that I haven't got that breakthrough match. I've had a lot of wins over top 10 players. Just because it hasn't happened this year doesn't mean I can't do it. I've proved that I can in the past, and will keep proving it to everybody.

Q. You said earlier this summer at Wimbledon you were kind of doing some soul searching, trying to find your game. It seems to be kind of coming together a little bit this summer. What is it about this time of year that you like and what's going better for you right now?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I've been looking forward to the hard court season coming up after the clay and the grass not my best surfaces. I always look forward to coming up here to New York. I love playing in front of the crowd up here, it's just so electrifying.
At the beginning of the year, I think I took weeks for granted thinking, I don't have any points so if I don't win, it's not a big deal, I'm not gonna drop or move up. Now I kind of have my back against the wall and, you know, really going after it again.

Q. Is that what caused the letdown in the start of the year? When I saw you in Vegas, you were have having a tough time. Goldstein beat you. You looked impatient on the court. Today, you looked very patient.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I just wasn't sure how to play tennis at the beginning of this year. When I stepped out on the court, I didn't know how I was gonna win my points, how I was gonna structure each point. Now I go out there and I have a purpose with every point and every match. It's taken a while to get back to where I am right now, but, you know, I'm comfortable where I am.

Q. Any idea why, why the slippage?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, it's tough to say. If I knew, I probably won't have the six month relapse. My whole career so far has been kind of like a roller coaster: up and down. I need to figure out how to play a complete year at high level tennis.

Q. You intend to come back to Vegas in February and give it another go?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I wouldn't mind. I wouldn't mind. It's fun playing there, altitude. It's Vegas. You can't say no.

Q. Cold.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, got the sleeve warmers to keep me warm, though.

Q. Is Diego going to be a permanent thing?
ROBBY GINEPRI: I'm not sure. He's just temporary right now. We've been working pretty hard the last few weeks. I enjoy having someone that I've known for a while, and he's a good friend of mine. So he can push me, we can have good times as well.

Q. Do you see a possibility of being back in Francisco.
ROBBY GINEPRI: You know, I don't want to burn any bridges with anybody. He's done a lot for me. I'll always remember him. If we cross paths down the road, then so be it.

Q. Is there a different emphasis on what you want to do on the court with Diego than there is with Francisco ?
ROBBY GINEPRI: No, it's me finding my game again. It's me, you know, with the mental side. I have to be more positive out there, just kind of go with the flow, simplify things. That's what works for me. I don't want to get too carried away and listen to, you know, 20 different things to be working on. When I'm playing my best, I'm just out there and trusting my instincts.

Q. Your game seems really fairly simple. When you're grinding, that's when you're playing your best tennis. Not in a hurry to go for too much, waiting for the right shot, and then executing. Why has that become so complicated?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Just because in practice I hit the balls pretty deep, pretty hard, and I work on just about every shot. I know I can hit every shot. So when I'm out on the court, it feels like, I know I can make this shot so why not go for it. But it's just waiting for the right ball to go for it. That's what the dilemma was early this year.

Q. The Murray, kind of a classic. The guy's on his feet out there. That match is yours for the taking.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Right.

Q. Then you make some interesting judgments. The overhead you took out of the air a couple feet in front of the net, those mental lapses, how bad does that disturb you when you come off the court after that?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, it's frustrating when the match is in my palm of my hand and I don't close it out. It's just a missed opportunity. He squeaked it out somehow.
You know, I'll look back and try not to think too, too deeply into it. I felt I played pretty well. I just didn't close out the big points well. You know, I missed some easy volleys today, pretty similar to that match. So when, you know, I'm on the baseline ripping balls and moving people around, I can't finish the point off by hitting a duck volley, it's a little frustrating. But I'll keep working on it, improving.

Q. Are you playing more physical now than you were earlier in the year? Was that an adjustment you needed to make?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I'm definitely more patient out there and I think grinding more and looking for the right ball and just staying in the point until I'm ready to go for it than make an error. I feel like I'm moving a lot better than I was earlier in the year.

Q. Goldstein said your game was getting back to that physical, natural style.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Uh hmm.

Q. He thought that was the big difference today.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Right.

Q. You really dictated the terms of the match from a physical stand point to him, and he couldn't match it.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Right, I mean, if I wanted to stay backhand to backhand in a point, it felt like I was gonna win it. If I wanted to step around, hit forehand, I could put it inside out, outside in. I was just hitting the ball well today. It's good to have these days.
Someone like Paul, he makes you earn the points, hit the balls, and today I did that.

Q. It looked like the Ginepri we saw here last year is back again. I'm wondering if you can just talk about the experience you took from last year and how you're applying it again here. You say you love playing in New York, being in this kind of atmosphere. Does it just bring out the best in your game? Has this been building for a few weeks because you've played pretty well since Indy?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I think it's been building. Starting a good run in Indianapolis again, getting a little familiar with territory again with what I did last year. Coming up here, I always look forward to it. I get up here about a good week, you know, to get used to the courts, get used to the balls, everything.
I feel like, you know, at the beginning of the week, it's looking at over a two week span and it seems like it's so tough to do what I did last year. I just don't really have to think too much about that and just go out there, do what I have to do and take each match at a time. That's what I've been doing so far.

Q. What about Haas? Guy with a lot of firepower. Hits big off both sides.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Did he win that match already?

Q. Yeah. He's yours.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah.

Q. Maybe he's a little impatient, too. Maybe he can get frustrated out there and start cussing under his breath as he often does. How do you attack that?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, hopefully the German personality will come out and he'll get a little rattled. He's one of the best players out here. He's been No. 2 in the world, obviously. He knows how to win matches. He knows how to play. It's best of five, so it's gonna, you know, be a long physical, grinding match again. We went five last year. Could have gone either way. Hopefully get off to a better start, hop on him a bit earlier. He's got a pretty sweet one hander, so I got to get the ball up high to him and kind of just mix things up.

Q. James spoke a little bit about how Vince Spadea with the book kind of broke the locker room code a little bit. Is that kind of how you feel about it? Have you had a chance to see the book or talk to the guys much about it?
ROBBY GINEPRI: I've seen the book but I haven't read anything about it. I've heard, you know, a few comments from players and they weren't too happy with it. You know, that's I really can't speak much about it until I get through the book and read about it.

Q. Is there kind of a code, unwritten code, what goes on in the locker room stays there between you guys?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, you would think that pretty much it's confidential, locker room talk. I don't know exactly what, you know, aiming at with the code or with what he said in the book until I read it. But, you know, guys do what they do in the locker room, and, you know, I don't know.

Q. What were your thoughts about the Tennis Channel Open, and what would you like to see as a player them do to make things better for the players?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Where, in Vegas?

Q. Yeah.
ROBBY GINEPRI: It was great. Staying at one of the best hotels in Vegas was pretty fun. Having the atmosphere with all the casinos and all the people coming out, supporting the tennis, you know, it's I thought it was a very good event for the first year they ran it. You know, Tennis Channel has been getting involved with a lot more things off the court, going to people's houses, just interviewing them time and time again. You know, it's good for the game. The fans want to be kind of closer to the players, they want to see that player and kind of what they do off the court. With the Tennis Channel, you know, interviewing as much as they have been, I think it's great for the game.

Q. Is there anything they can do better to make players
ROBBY GINEPRI: I wasn't there long enough to actually know (smiling).
I don't know. We'll see what happens.

Q. What about the poker games?
ROBBY GINEPRI: The poker games, they set something up for a couple of the nights. I think I was playing that night, so I couldn't get involved in it.

Q. Why is Roddick the best poker player?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Why?

Q. Yeah.
ROBBY GINEPRI: Maybe he's got the biggest bank account and he's more frugal. Doesn't really care.

Q. Is he a bluffer or does he have the cards when he calls them?
ROBBY GINEPRI: Yeah, I think he bluffs a little bit too much. Mardy bluffs. James kind of plays more percentages. I'm kind of pretty erratic. You never know what's gonna come with me. All keeps us on our toes.

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