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| Robby Ginepri challenges a call while playing Alejandro Falla during the second round of the RCA Championships© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Defending champion Robby Ginepri rallied to beat Alejandro Falla 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 Tuesday in the second round of the RCA Championships, using an instant replay challenge to overturn a key point.
The RCA Championships is the first U.S. Open Series tournament to allow players to challenge calls and get them reviewed using instant replay. Ginepri and Falla were tied at 5 in the second set when chair umpire Zsolt Beda of Hungary ruled a shot by Ginepri was out, giving Falla a 6-5 lead.
But Ginepri challenged the ruling and the video showed his shot was actually in, giving him the lead. He went on to capture the second set.
"I'm glad they started it here,'' Ginepri said of the new challenge format. "I needed to come up with the challenge, and it worked in my favor.''
Ginepri, seeded fourth, had lost his opening-round match in 10 previous tournaments while struggling to a 6-16 record.
"The best part of this match was I didn't play nearly my best tennis, and I still found a way to win,'' he said. "That's much bigger than winning a 6-0, 6-1 match.''
Third-seeded Fernando Gonzalez also defeated Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Benjamin Becker of Germany fired 18 aces to advance against Ivan Navarro Pastor of Spain 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 and Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea hit 12 aces in a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Mark Philippoussis of Australia in first-round matches.
Under the instant replay system, each player gets two challenges per set to review line calls. A player only loses a challenge if the call stands. Players will receive an additional challenge during a tiebreaker, but can't carry over challenges from one set to another.