BIG AMERICAN HOPES TO SQUEEZE INTO SIEBEL FINAL

The big boss: Justin Gimelstob wants to be the Tony Soprano of tennis

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE SIEBEL OPEN IN SAN JOSE, CALIF. – As the jumping bean of tennis Justin Gimelstob said the other day, the tour is more entertaining when he's around. He's lively and funny off court, and fiery and entertaining on court.

"It must have been tough on you guys not having me on main tour, other guys saying, 'Yeah I played well.' I feel bad for you guys," Gimelstob laughed.

He's taking on-line college course in the "Art of Film" and is a huge fan of the famed HBO series "The Sopranos." Asked which character he most identified with, he chose the quintessential emotional rollercoaster, Tony Soprano. "He's the big boss and I like to be in charge, too," Gimelstob said.

But for the past two years, Gimelstob been more like Pauly Walnuts, an-order taking lieutenant who's constantly being undermined. He's been little more than an afterthought, a mandatory early first-week story at the US Open because he's from across the bridge in New Jersey and a sometimes sidebar during the Mercedes Benz Cup in Westwood because he went to UCLA.

But after he upset eighth-seed Kenneth Carlsen 6-3, 6-4 in at the Siebel Open to reach his first semifinal since the summer of 2000, the 26-year-old Gimelstob became a legitimate sports story again. He's serving and volleying with precision and authority and isn't losing his mind early in matches. His groundstrokes will never be great, but when he gets his feet in position, he can sometimes lace winners off both wings. Against Carlsen, he showed accuracy with his backhand passing shot and put numerous returns of serve into play, something fans didn't see very often last year.

PRACTICING WITH THE BIG BOYS
Gimelstob, who has been practicing with both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, says that he is a changed person and player.

"The key for me is how much work I've put into my serve and my attitude," Gimelstob said. "I'm much more relaxed out there. I'm still an intense person, but I control my emotions a lot better."

The 6', 5" Gimelstob wasn't too calm around the net, diving on the hard court twice in the second set and bloodying his right elbow.

"I'm right up there with Boris Becker," said Gimelstob, who added that he has dove five times this week. "I was determined not to let those balls go by. On the last one, my legs felt like Jell-O anyway, so I figured it would be the only way I could get over there."

Since he turned pro in the summer of 1996 after his freshmen year in UCLA (when the Bruins gagged to Stanford), Gimelstob has seen more downs than ups. He's never ended the year with a higher ranking that No. 80, has no singles titles and hasn't reached a singles final. The media loves him because he turns out good quotes faster than Sampras racks up aces, but he can't be satisfied never cracking the top 50 nor reaching the second week of a Slam.

He's a refreshingly honest person who says that he was too highly touted coming out of college, but a more accurate depiction would be that he received too much attention given his ability at the time. While he had a good first serve and then, most of the pros could chew him up from the baseline and he never returned well enough to make a big dent on his opponent's serve.

"I was over-hyped," he said. "I wasn't prepared for the rigors of the tour. I got a little unlucky. I was thwarted by injuries on numerous occasions. That's tough, but it's part of the sport. I'm a big guy, and maybe I just wasn't good enough, my game wasn't complete enough, maybe I wasn't mature enough to handle some of the situations. Guys are good. I think I would have done better if my progress had not been impeded but injuries, but we don't know that."

CHALLENGED BY THE CHALLENGER CIRCUIT
What we do know is that last year, Gimelstob was in such a funk that he was forced to grind on the Challenger circuit. When he did happen to get an opportunity to play in the regular tour, he was a mess, like when Agassi destroyed him in the blink of an eye in the second round of the '02 US Open in front of his friends and family.

So he went back to the minors and toughed it out.

"I was going from Asia to Europe last fall to try to get enough points to get into the Australian and break into the top 100," he said. "I lost a close match in the semis at Seoul and it must have been 40 degrees with 100 miles an hour winds and I'm playing for my career out there. I lost in three sets, get on flight to go to Europe and it's like 20 hours. Luckily, I had a business class seat, but I had to change my flight, so I was flying coach. I'm 6-foot-5, my seat's broken and won't recline; it was a debacle. You wouldn't believe some of the things you go through: lopsided courts, 100-year-old line judges, 2-year-old ball kids. You're stressed and feel pressure."

But Gimelstob hung there, compiling a 30-18 record in Challengers and reaching two finals. He ended the year ranked No. 102 and with the belief that he could get back on to the tour. His inspiration? None other than compatriot Vince Spadea, a former top 20 player in 1999 who went on an 0-21 streak in 2000 and ended up with a No. 229 year-end ranking. Spadea was also forced to play Challengers and last year, climbed his way back into the top 70.

"He motivated me, he's the barometer for having your career go to sh-- and resurrecting from the dead," Gimelstob said. "Say what you want about him, but you got to have a lot of respect for him because nobody can help, it has to come from inside."

Now Gimelstob is taking the long view of the sport, knowing that one flashy, fist-pumping first round victory doesn't make a career. He says that in tennis, your fortune can "flip like a switch," and that it's necessary hang to keep positive. "That hasn't always been my best attribute," he added.

On Saturday, Gimelstob will take on Davide Sanguinetti and should he win that match, he'll be in his first final, possibly facing one of his heroes, Agassi. "Davide's the favorite, but I'm looking forward to it," he said. I just have to fight hard and believe in myself."