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| US Open Blog Remarkably, Ginepri said he received a positive jolt in July when Nike dropped him and he signed with Underarmour. "They showed me they believed in me," he said. "I needed that. It gave me a boost of confidence and necessary lift." Ginepri blames himself for his decline in the second half of last year, saying that once he reached No. 25 in the rankings, he stopped working out as much. "Once I slipped down to 103 that was a pretty good reality check for me," he said. "I worked out every week coming up and once I reached No. 25, I only went like every other week, thinking that it was pretty easy to get there and that it wouldn't stop. I was wrong."
"When I played Roger, the only thing he was really doing to try to exploit me is draw me to the net," he said. "I don't have a lot of areas to pick on. But I am working to improve my slice and my volley." After his fade out, it was impossible to believe that Ginepri would ever be more than a journeyman player, even though he's only 22 years old. Sure, he reached the fourth round of two Slams in 2004 at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but didn't impress in either of his two losses to Sebastien Grosjean. FINALLY, HE BEATS RODDICK So, when he reached the semis of Indianapolis against Andy Roddick, the guy who had owned him every moment since the juniors, no one believed that he could beat him. Except for Ginepri, who had promised Roddick two years ago in Memphis that he would beat him once before their careers were over. That he did, for the first time in seven matches. "I had only taken like a set off him in the juniors," Ginepri said. "I had lost so many tiebreakers to him that he had that mental edge over me. So it was a huge win for me." Part of Ginepri's problems has been decision-making. When he was in a slump, he wasn't going for his shots or he was going for the wrong shots. He's making better decisions now, which is always easier to do when you believe that you are making the right ones. "Confidence is the key for any player," he said. "That's what I had when I was working my way up. Before, I was getting tight and tentative when the matches got late and I wasn't executing. I'm in a better place now." Ginepri and Roddick could face each other in round two, should Ginepri get past Guillermo Garcia Lopez and Roddick beats the talented Gilles Muller. Roddick chooses not to look past that match, but did venture to say that he's not in NY merely to put on a good show. "I want to win," the 2003 champ said. "That's what I'm here for. If I get to the semis or final, people aren't going to be surprised. It's not going to be a breakout tournament. It's not going to be here or there. That's what I'm shooting for." Sharapova, Serena not in full heath Maria Sharapova and Mary Pierce were the only two notable women no-shows at The Tennis Channel party on Saturday, which was said to be one of the most spectacular events put on all year. … Word has it that Catsuit Woman, Serena Williams, will unveil an extremely expensive accessory in her opening match. Serena said that she's hitting well, but has yet to regain her movement due to her knee and ankle injuries. … Gustavo Kuerten is still contending with a neck injury. … Alexa Glatch, 15, did a terrific job of proving that she's the US girl to watch by reaching the semis of Forest Hills and playing Sania Mirza tough in a loss.
TR.NET news: Our site was at the top of Sports Illustrated's list of recommended web sites covering the US Open. The list appears in its special US Open preview edition. On Saturday morning, I did my third stint on The Tennis Channel's' Tennis Insiders, this time with Bud Collins, Peter Bodo (Tennis.com) and Richard Vach (Tennis-X.com). The gloves came off at times, but all my colleagues did a nice job addressing some of the game's pressing issues, player development and what's ahead in 2006 among them. Vach pulled off a hilarious bit on Bodo, who tore apart the Argentines after Guillermo Cañas was suspended two years for doping. Vach presented Bodo with a "Free Willy" T-Shirt. Don't forget to go to USOpen.org for my daily picks, plus for my radio broadcasts of the matches. I'll start on Monday night for Maria Sharapova's match against Eleni Daniilidou, which will be one hell of a test for the new No. 1 and soon to be No. 2 (New Haven champ Lindsay Davenport will take over again on Monday). Sharapova said that her injured right pectoral muscle feels better, but there's no way that she's 100 percent. Her comment when asked whether she was cracking her serve and forehand again was "they've been getting bigger and bigger." Sharapova says she's not as riddled with the same anxiety over the injury that befell her in LA: "I was playing with a terrible back in Australia and I got to the semifinals thinking that I couldn't even walk so this is a piece of cake." |
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