Roland Garros Day 9: The Last American Man Takes His Bow

Curtain Call

Player: Robby Ginepri
Nation: USA
Age: 27
Current Ranking: 98
Notable Conquests: Juan Carlos Ferrero (16th seed, Spain) and Sam Querrey (18th, USA
Tour Page
Today's Result: loss to Novak Djokovic (3rd, Serbia) in four sets

What a great tournament for the American veteran! Beating Querrey is a bigger deal than one might think as Sam had actually been playing well on clay. But Ferrero was the big prize. Ferrero is not the guy he was when he won this thing in 2003 but he is a former champ and a former World #1. It counts!

It was a day for multi-tasking. I did watch quite a bit of tennis but my parents are coming to visit next week so tidying up was the higher priority. No harm in having the tube on while you're getting the chores done, though!


Catching Up with Old Friends

Gisela Dulko (Curtain Call, Aussie Open Day 9) - Dulko (Argentina) started out great in singles, beating Victoria Azarenka (10th, Belarus) in the first round, but then fell to qualifier Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa). She earns our interest here for her performance in doubles. She teamed with Flavia Pennetta (Italy), garnering the fifth seed in the draw. The pair reached the fourth round before losing to the third seed: Liezel Huber (USA)/Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain).

Justine Henin (Curtain Call, Aussie Open Day 13) - Surely, for a four-time champion, a fourth round finish is very disappointing. But I, for one, think it's appropriate to cut her some slack. For one thing, it's only her seventh event after a long layoff. For another, Samantha Stosur (7th, Australia) is pretty good and was due for a big win. Henin (22nd, Belgium) also gets some credit for taking out a battle-ready Maria Sharapova (12th, Russia) in the third. She'll have some added incentive heading into Wimbledon: it's the only Slam she's never won.


All Part of My Fantasy

My women's bracket took a big hit with Henin's loss. It's tough to make any noise if you fail to pick the champ. At least my finalists on the men's side - Federer and Nadal - are both going strong so far.