Comfortable setting certainly suits Ginepri

Aug 27, 2008 - 11:39 PM By Carl Dispoto PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- After a disappointing trip around the world, Robby Ginepri is trying to make the most of a visit to more familiar surroundings.

Ginepri advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory over fellow American Amir Delic.

Ginepri was one of three American men's single players to complete in the Olympics but drew an opening-round matchup against third-ranked Novak Djokavic. After losing his only match in Beijing, Ginepri played a couple of matches at The Pilot Pen in New Haven last week before coming to the Open, where he has had more success than any other Grand Slam.

"It was a long trip (to Beijing) and unfortunate," he said. "I did draw Djokavic in the first round but someone has to play him. And you've got to beat everybody to get the gold medal, so I had to play him eventually."

The unseeded Ginepri is in a much more comfortable environment at Flushing Meadows, where he turned in his best Grand Slam performance by reaching the semifinals in 2005. He is 13-7 lifetime at the U.S. Open and just 13-17 in the other Grand Slams.

"Those semifinals will definitely be a memorable moment in my career," he said. "I've had a lot of great success here. I come here and I'm always excited to play in front of the fans. It's a lot of energy out there on every match that I play in - and I feed off it quite well."

The 25-year-old Ginepri had little trouble against his compatriot, dropping just three games while dominating the first two sets. He was able to take advantage of Delic's 18 unforced errors in the first two sets while committing only eight and holding serve throughout.

"I got off to a great start, which I thought was going to be the key for me today," he said. "I felt pretty comfortable."

Delic staged a rally in the third with an aggressive serve. He won 94 percent of points on his first serve but only managed to a 40 percent success rate, forcing him to rely on his second serve. Delic was further undone by sloppy play as he recorded 26 unforced errors in the decisive set.

"Toward the third set he started serving a lot better," Ginepri said. "As the match gets tighter, I can't go for shot the way I did the first two sets. But overall I felt good and it's always tough to play first rounds no matter where you are."

The unseeded Ginepri with face No. 30 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia in the second round on Friday.