Safin subdues Indy champ Ginepri
Originally published on: 26/02/10 11:39
Marat Safin ended Robby Ginepri’s fine run of form with his first win over the American in three meetings in the first round of the LA Tennis Open.
The former world No.1 came back from a set down against last week’s Indianapolis champion to win 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Safin won just one point in the final three games of the first set, but responded by racing to a 3-0 lead in the second set that Ginepri simply couldn’t recover from.
When the Russian repeated the trick in the third set, this time with two breaks of the American’s serve, the match was effectively settled. Ginepri recovered one break but it was not enough.
“Robby is playing really well, coming from a title last week,” said Safin, who on Monday beat Pete Sampras in an exhibition repeat of their 2000 US Open final. “He is a tough player. It was a well-played match from both of us. I was able to go up a break in the beginning of the second set and that helped me to turn the match around.”
Elsewhere, John Isner – who lost to Ginepri in the semis in Indy – beat the form book with a 7-6(8) 7-6(3) victory over No.7 seed Benjamin Becker.
The 6’9” American sent down 15 aces and lost just four points on serve in a tight encounter before sealing the win in just over two hours – his fourth victory over the German in their four meetings. He now faces Marcos Baghdatis, who beat Frank Dancevic 7-6(3) 6-3 to post his first ATP win in a month.
“I had a good week last week and maybe I was a little bit tired today,” said Isner after his mid-afternoon encounter on a sweltering day in California. “I played four long matches last week but today was starting off on a good foot.”
Safin’s doubles partner Igor Kunitsyn posted a 7-5 6-2 win over Somdev Devvarman, while No.6 seed San Querry – finalist last week in Indy – beat Denis Istomin 6-2 6-0. There was no such luck against a qualifier for Taylor Dent – the American fell to Ryan Sweeting 6-4 2-6 6-3
Ernests Gulbis beat Yen-Hsun Lu 7-5 6-2, and Australian qualifier Carsten Ball eliminated Marc Gicquel 6-2 7-6.
Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here
