Robert Louis Ginepri ( ; born October 7, 1982) is a retired American professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...
player. He won three ATP singles titles in his career and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in December 2005. Ginepri's best Grand Slam result was the semifinals of the 2005 US Open, where he lost to
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...
.
Early life
Robby Ginepri is of
Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
ancestry.
He attended
Joseph Wheeler High School, located in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
. He graduated as a member of the class of 2001.
Career
2005
Ginepri was the first player to be beaten by
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the
2005 French Open.
In August, he reached the semifinals of an
ATP Masters Series tournament for the first time in his career, in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
. He beat
2005 French Open runner-up
Mariano Puerta
Mariano Rubén Puerta (; born 19 September 1978) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 9 singles ranking in August 2005. His career highlight of reaching the final of the French Open in 2005 ...
in the first round,
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
in the second round,
1998 French Open
The 1998 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 25 May until 7 June. It was the 102nd staging of the French Open, and the second Gr ...
champion
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
in the third round, and two-time
Grand Slam singles titlist
Marat Safin
Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
in the quarterfinals. He then lost to world no. 1
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in the semifinals.
His summer hardcourt record was 14–3 when he arrived two weeks later at the
US Open as an unseeded player. After defeating
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round, and
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
's conqueror,
Gilles Müller
Gilles Müller (; born 9 May 1983) is a former professional tennis player from Luxembourg. He is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country. Müller won two titles on the ATP W ...
, in the second round, both in straight sets, Ginepri then put together three consecutive five-set wins, defeating
Tommy Haas in the third round,
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in the fourth round, and
Guillermo Coria
Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved hi ...
in the quarterfinals. He then lost to
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...
in the semifinals in five sets. Ginepri thus became the first player in the
open era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
to play four consecutive five-set matches at the US Open.
In November at the
Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:
*Madrid Open (tennis)
The Madrid Open ( es, Masters de Madrid, link=no), currently sponsored by Mutua Madrileña and known as the Mutua Madrid Open, is a joint men's and women's professiona ...
, Ginepri made it to another ATP Masters Series semifinal, before losing to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. He also won the inaugural Superset Tennis tournament, a groundbreaking one-set, one-day tournament, earning him prize money of $250,000. He finished 2005 at world no. 15 in the ATP rankings, the highest ranking of his career.
2006-2007
Ginepri's results in 2006 did not match his successes in 2005. He lost in the second round of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
and the first round of both the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
and
Wimbledon. At the
US Open, he lost in the third round to German
Tommy Haas in a fifth-set tiebreaker. He finished the year ranked world no. 51 with a 24–26 record. Ginepri lost in the third round of both the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
and the
US Open and the first round of both the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
and
Wimbledon. He finished the year ranked world no. 134.
2008
At the tournament in
Delray Beach, Florida
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...
, Ginepri lost in the semifinals to
James Blake. In his next tournament, the
SAP Open in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
, Ginepri was able to defeat Blake in the quarterfinals, but lost in the semifinals to
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 10 ...
.
At the
Tennis Channel Open
The Tennis Channel Open was a men's tennis tournament on the ATP International Series which was held for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 27 to March 5, 2006. In the men's singles final, James Blake defeated Lleyton Hewitt whi ...
in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
, Ginepri reached the semifinals for his third consecutive tournament. Ginepri defeated
Xavier Malisse in the first round, world no. 17
Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, and
Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals, before falling to
Kevin Anderson. Ginepri then played the
Tennis Masters Series
The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
Pacific Life Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is L ...
in
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley. Incorporated in 1967, it lies in between the cities of Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 4,958.
The city hosts the sixt ...
, losing in the second round to
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
.
At the
Hypo Group Tennis International
The Hypo Group Tennis International was an annual men's tennis tournament which was held between 1981 and 2008. During its lifetime it was organized in four locations in Italy and Austria. The event was part of the ATP Tour's World Series from 199 ...
in
Pörtschach, Austria, Ginepri lost in the quarterfinals to
Juan Mónaco. He then made it to the fourth round of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
, before losing to 24th-seeded
Fernando González. On
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
, Ginepri lost in the second round of
The Artois Championships in London to
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
and the first round of
Wimbledon to Gonzalez.
On June 23, 2008, Ginepri's ranking was world no. 59, a rise of 112 places since January 28, 2008. Ginepri then made his Olympic debut tennis at the
2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, China, losing in the first round. In July, Ginepri made his debut in the
World Team Tennis league, playing for the new
Washington Kastles team.
At the 2009 US Open, Ginepri advanced to the second round, before losing to
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
in five sets.
2010
Ginepri lost in the first round of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...
. He beat
Sam Querrey
Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
in four sets in the first round of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
and
Potito Starace in the second round. He beat no. 16
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he ...
in five sets, advancing to play in the fourth round, where he lost against
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. ...
in four sets. He was the only unseeded player left in the competition, along with qualifier Gabashvili, and the last American in the men's field.
He lost to
Robin Söderling in straight sets in the first round of Wimbledon.
In October, Ginepri was involved in a biking accident causing him to have surgery on his arm. He didn't return to the pro tour until July 2011.
2011-2014
Ginepri participated in the
Atlanta Tennis Championships as a wildcard. His first match was against fellow wildcard
Tommy Haas. He received a wildcard to the
US Open, where he defeated Brazilian
João Souza
João Olavo Soares de Souza (; born 27 May 1988) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. Before receiving a lifetime ban for match-fixing, Souza competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour, both in singles and doubles. He reached his hi ...
in the first round in a four-set match. He then lost to
John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Considered one of the best servers ...
in the second round.
In the early part of 2013, Ginepri won a Futures event and made the final of a Challenger tournament. Ginepri made it to the quarterfinals of the US Clay Court Championship in Houston before losing to
Juan Mónaco. He failed to qualify for the French Open and did not participate in Wimbledon. In 2014, having competed in futures tournaments throughout the start of the season, Ginepri participated in his first Challenger at the
2014 Sarasota Open
The 2014 Sarasota Open was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the sixth edition of the tournament which was part of the 2014 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Sarasota, Florida, United States between 14 and 20 Apri ...
, retiring after one match in the first round of qualifying.
After winning the USTA wildcard position for the 2014 French Open, he lost to Rafael Nadal in the first round, 6–0, 6–3, 6–0.
Personal
Ginepri was born in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 Unit ...
and graduated from
Joseph Wheeler High School in
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...
. Ginepri currently lives in
Acworth, Georgia. He owns the Olde Town Athletic Club in Marietta. His father, Rene, who is originally from Luxembourg, is a systems analyst and his mother, Nancy, is a second grade teacher.
Ginepri retired from the tour in 2015. He was briefly linked with actress
Minnie Driver. Married Josephine Stafford on September 29, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. On February 22, 2007, Ginepri participated on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was ...
's ''
Pros vs. Joes
''Pros vs. Joes'' was an American physical reality game show that aired on Spike from 2006 to 2010. The show featured male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against professional athletes (the "Pros"; mostly of retired male and ...
'' with
Rik Smits,
Rob Dibble
Rob or ROB may refer to:
Places
* Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia
* Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia
People
* Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn
* Rob ( ...
, and
Andre Rison
Andre Previn Rison (born March 18, 1967) is a former American football wide receiver who played professionally for the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers ...
.
Junior Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
ATP career finals
Singles: 3 (3 titles)
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals
Singles: 12 (7–5)
Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Performance timelines
Singles
Doubles
Top 10 wins
References
External links
Official site*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ginepri, Robby
1982 births
Living people
American male tennis players
American people of Luxembourgian descent
Olympic tennis players of the United States
Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Sportspeople from Marietta, Georgia
Tennis people from Florida
Tennis people from Georgia (U.S. state)
Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics