Ginepri is last American to lose at French Open
88 seed is 1st U.S. male to reach 4th round since Agassi in '03; Federer wins
 Christophe Ena / AP Robby Ginepri became the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003. |
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PARIS - Top-ranked Roger Federer, seeking his first French Open title, reached the quarterfinals by beating Julien Benneteau of France 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
“I hope it’s going to go my way this time,” Federer said. “All in all, I’m very happy with the way I’m playing.”
Federer’s opponent Wednesday will be No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, who ended American Robby Ginepri’s surprising run at Roland Garros, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-1. Ginepri was the last American in either singles draw.
No. 5 David Ferrer improved to 8-1 in five-set matches by beating No. 21 Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Ferrer next plays unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, who defeated No. 28 Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Federer was broken serving for each of the first two sets, but recovered to close them out, finishing the second set in steady rain that prompted a 90-minute interruption before the third set. He reached the final eight for the 16th Grand Slam in a row.
“Obviously I’m the favorite in this section, so I hope I can make it through to the final,” Federer said. “But I’m not there yet, so I have to be very careful with Gonzalez. ... He was born on clay, more or less.”
The Chilean is 16-0 this year on clay, although he withdrew before the third round in Rome because of a hamstring injury.
Ginepri hung with Gonzalez until losing serve twice in a row late in the second set. Ginepri’s consolation: He was the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003.
“A disappointing performance on my part today, to not have my A game when I really expected it to be there,” Ginepri said. “At the same time, it was great last week and great tournament. I’ll probably be a little bit more happy tomorrow, but at the moment I’m a little discouraged with the way it went today.”
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“I tried to end the points too quickly,” Ginepri said. “I should have turned it more into a grind test. A five-hour grind test would have favored me a little bit more.”
At No. 88, Ginepri was the lowest-ranked player left in the men’s draw. He began the tournament with an 0-5 record at Roland Garros, and by winning three matches, he clinched a berth on the U.S. Olympic team.
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