Giovanni Lapentti Gómez (; born 25 January 1983) is retired

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

ian

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. His brother is

Nicolás Lapentti Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez (; born 13 August 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador. His brothers, Giovanni and Leonardo, uncle Andrés, and cousins Roberto and Emilio also are or were on the pro circuit. His fat ...

, another professional tennis player, while a third brother, Leonardo, has also been active at the lower levels of professional tennis.

Personal life

Lapentti married

Andrea Gómez Andrea Gómez (born April 13, 1985, in Mérida, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Venezuela International 2004 and was the official representative of Venezuela to the Miss International 2005 pageant ...

Miss Venezuela 2004 in 2011 and became a father in 2012.

Tennis career

2002-2004

Lapentti announced his ATP debut in 2002, but he actually had his first tour match in 2003, at the Franklin Templeton Classic in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nic ...

, United States. Lapentti obtained his first professional victory at that tournament's first round, defeating

Paradorn Srichaphan Paradorn Srichaphan ( th, ภราดร ศรีชาพันธุ์; ; ; born 14 June 1979) is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He was the first men's singles player from Asia to be ranked in the top 10 of the ATP ra ...

, 7–6 (7–2), 6–2. He lost in the tournament's second round to David Sánchez. He participated in 2003's

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

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 ...

, losing in the first round both times. During the French Open, he was tied at 2 sets apiece with

Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...

but had to retire in the fifth set due to an injury, which did not allow him to return to the professional men's tennis tour until 2004. Lapentti did not obtain a single victory during his second year as a professional, but he participated in tournaments held in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, Mexico, Spain and

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 ...

2005-2013

Lapentti had better results in 2005, losing in the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

playoffs to

Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...

(he only played one Davis Cup game that year), advancing to the second round of the

Legg Mason Classic The Washington Open (known as the Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) is an annual hardcourt tennis tournament played at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. The Washington Open is part of the ATP Tour ...

, where he was defeated by

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 ...

, getting to an ATP's tournament's third round for the first time in his career when he participated at the

RCA Championships The Indianapolis Tennis Championships was an annual men's tennis tournament played in Indianapolis as part of the ATP Tour. Since its inaugural playing in 1987, the tournament was held for one week in July up until its final playing in 2009. Ori ...

(losing to Paul Goldstein in the third round), making the second round of the

Campbell's Hall of Fame Championship The Infosys Hall of Fame Open is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, the original location of the U.S. National Championships. The ...

and the third round of 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 ...

. The only tournament that he participated in and failed to reach the second round during 2005 was 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, where he lost to

Kevin Kim Kevin Kim (born July 26, 1978) is an American retired tennis player. Career He entered the top 100 in 2004, reaching a career-high singles ranking of World No. 63 in March 2005. In 1993, Kim won the USTA National Boys' 16 Indoor Doubles Champi ...

. Lapentti was eliminated in the first round of 2006's Pacific Life Open, that time by

Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.Fish won six tournaments on the ma ...

. In June 2008 Lapentii won the Manta Open and had accomplished his goal also winning Costa Rica Seguros Bolivar Open in March 2011.

References

External links

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cbs.sportsline.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapentti, Giovanni 1983 births Living people Ecuadorian expatriates in the United States Ecuadorian male tennis players Ecuadorian people of Italian descent Ecuadorian people of Spanish descent Sportspeople from Guayaquil Wimbledon junior champions Tennis players at the 2015 Pan American Games Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles South American Games medalists in tennis South American Games gold medalists for Ecuador Competitors at the 1998 South American Games Pan American Games competitors for Ecuador 21st-century Ecuadorian people