Monday, September 22, 2014

Former U.S. star to play today in Napa Challenger

Robby Ginepri lost to Andre Agassi in five sets in the
2005 U.S. Open semifinals. 2013 photo by Paul Bauman
   Robby Ginepri, the only active American man to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal, is scheduled to play Liam Broady of Great Britain today in the first round of the $50,000 Napa Valley Challenger.
   The match will begin not before 4:30 p.m. at the Napa Valley Country Club. Admission is $15 daily through Thursday and $20 daily from Friday through Sunday.
   Ginepri, who lost to Andre Agassi in five sets in the semis of the 2005 U.S. Open, has reached the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments. The 31-year-old resident of Kennesaw, Ga., also has won three titles on the ATP World Tour, the major leagues of men's tennis.
   Ginepri, a right-hander, reached a career-high No. 15 in the world in 2006 but broke his left elbow in 2010 when he fell off his bicycle trying to avoid a squirrel. He is now ranked No. 213.
   Broady won the boys doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2010 and the Australian Open in 2012. Now 20, the left-hander is ranked No. 286.
   Two all-American matches will precede Ginepri vs. Broady on Center Court.
   Fourth-seeded Bradley Klahn will meet fellow left-hander Wayne Odesnik not before 11:30 a.m. Klahn won the 2010 NCAA title as a Stanford sophomore, and graduated in 2012 and advanced to the quarterfinals of last year's inaugural Napa Valley Challenger.
   After the Klahn-Odesnik encounter, seventh-seeded Denis Kudla faces a tough assignment against Alex Kuznetsov. They reached the Napa quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, last year. Kudla was the top seed.
   On Sunday, a pair of 2012 Wimbledon champions played separate matches in the second round of qualifying.
   Sixth-seeded Frederik Nielsen, a Dane who won the men's doubles title at the All England Club with Jonathan Marray, edged wild card Clay Thompson, a 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) UCLA All-American, 2-6, 7-5 7-6 (6).
   Eighth-seeded Andrew Harris, who took the Wimbledon boys doubles crown with Australian countryman Nick Kyrgios, lost to left-hander Alexios Halebian, a 20-year-old Florida native, 7-5, 6-4.
$50,000 NAPA VALLEY CHALLENGER
At Napa Valley Country Club in Napa, Calif.
Second-round singles qualifying
   Nils Langer (1), Germany, def. Kevin Kim, United States, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
   Jose (Rubin) Statham, New Zealand, def. Spencer Papa, United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
   Cameron Norrie, Great Britain, def. Ben McLachlan, New Zealand, 6-2, 6-2.
   Frederik Nielsen (6), Denmark, def. Clay Thompson, United States, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6).
   Daniel Nguyen (3), United States, def. Dane Webb, United States, 7-5, 6-2.
   Alexios Halebian, United States, def. Andrew Harris (8), Australia, 7-5, 6-4.
   Mico Santiago, United States, def. Vahid Mirzadeh, United States, 6-3, 6-0.
   Julian Lenz, Germany, def. Daniel Garza (7), Mexico, 6-4, 6-2.
Today's schedule
(Starting at 10 a.m.)
Center Court
   Daniel Nguyen (3), United States,vs. Alexios Halebian, United States (final-round qualifying).
   Wayne Odesnik, United States, vs. Bradley Klahn (4), United States (not before 11:30 a.m.).
   Denis Kudla (7), United States, vs. Alex Kuznetsov, United States .
   Liam Broady, Great Britain, vs. Robby Ginepri, United States (not before 4:30 p.m.).
Court 7
   Cameron Norrie, Great Britain, vs. Frederik Nielsen (6), Denmark (final-round qualifying).
   Bjorn Fratangelo, United States, vs. Kyle Edmund, Great Britain (not before 11:30 a.m.).
   Alex Bolt, Australia, and Frank Dancevic, Canada, vs. Nicolas Meister and Clay Thompson, United States (not before 1 p.m).
   Tennys Sandgren and Rhyne Williams (4), United States, vs. Adam Hubble and John-Patrick Smith, Australia (not before 2:30 p.m.; may move to Center Court).
    Matt Reid, Australia, and Jose (Rubin) Statham, New Zealand, vs. Bradley Klahn and Tim Smyczek (2), United States (not before 3:30 p.m.).
Court 8
   Nils Langer (1), Germany, vs. Jose (Rubin) Statham, New Zealand (final-round qualifying).
   Mico Santiago, United States, vs. Julian Lenz, Germany (final-round qualifying).
   Sekou Bangoura and Vahid Mirzadeh (3), United States, vs. Sebastian Bader, Austria, and Erik Elliott, United States (not before 1:30 p.m.).

No comments:

Post a Comment