WASHINGTON (AP) -- Looking to get his game ready for the U.S. Open, Robby Ginepri beat training partner Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday in the first round of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
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| Robby Ginepri hits a return against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg during their quarterfinal match on Day 5 of the Mercedes-Benz Cup July 29, 2005 in Straus Stadium at the Los Angeles Tennis Center-UCLA in Westwood, California. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Get© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images |
Ginepri, who will face 12th-seeded Karol Beck in the second round, entered the hard-court tournament as the leader of the U.S. Open Series. He won the title at Indianapolis two weeks ago -- knocking off Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals -- and reached the quarterfinals at Los Angeles last week.
The former U.S. Davis Cup player wants to continue that momentum in Washington with an eye toward a breakthrough showing at the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 29.
"I hope that I can do something at the U.S. Open,'' Ginepri said. "That's what I'm preparing myself for with this summer sequence. And I've had a good run so far. I'm confident, I just need to keep the ball rolling from here.''
In other first-round play, Arnaud Clement defeated Nicholas Lapentti 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Bobby Reynolds beat Alex Clayton 7-5, 6-4; Nathan Healey swept past Gregory Carraz 6-2, 6-1; and Brian Baker beat Ivo Heuberger 6-2, 6-4.
The top-seeded Roddick, who won the 2003 U.S. Open and the Legg Mason title in 2001, was to play later Tuesday against Giovanni Lapentti. In another second-round match, third-seeded Tim Henman, the 2003 Legg Mason champion, was to face Wesley Moodie of South Africa.
Ginepri swept past Kim as their coach, Francisco Montana, sat quietly in the stands.
"I didn't even know where he was sitting during the match,'' Ginepri said. "He just warmed us up, said, 'Good luck' to both of us, and said, 'I'll see you after the match.'
"It's tough playing one of your friends. But you've got to concentrate out there a little harder and get the job done.''