Things are just heating up in Paris today, but it's already been an interesting and somewhat appropriate day for U.S. players and fans. I say "appropriate" because these days, American tennis is trending toward the "glass half-empty/glass half-full" theme. Andy Roddick continues to be a threat to his rivals near the top of the game. More important - and granted, this transcends all the stats and punditry, and may not be all that big a deal in the big picture - he's developed a wonderful habit of delivering the pleasant surprise.
He did it at Wimbledon last July; he did it in Miami this spring. Today, he did it at Roland Garros, by grubbing and slugging his way back from a two-sets-to-one deficit against Jarkko Nieminen in the first round at Roland Garros. I'm at the office today, so I saw only the final stages of the match on our out-of-date television (but hey, at least we have cable), which makes it look dark, gloomy, muddy and cold, no matter what you're watching.
But I saw enough to feel justified in some remarks I made in the recent past. There's nothing to prevent Roddick from doing well on clay and, let's face it, while Andy's game is pretty well maxed-out on grass and the faster indoor and hard courts, he's got lots of room to improve his resume on clay.
You can still establish control of rallies with a serve like Roddick's (although keeping control is another issue when it comes to a top quality opponent), and the extra time granted Roddick during his return games is most valuable. Return of serve has never been his forte; the longer a look he gets, the better off he is. Roddick now has a rally backhand and while his forehand isn't as menacing as it once was, he still strikes it with enough power to hurt an opponent. He uses it better now - moves it around more artfully, uses the wider angles better than ever, and because he feels more confident in his backhand he can push and probe around the perimeter of the court more confidently.
Coming back to win a five-set match, the way Roddick did today or Andy Murray did yesterday, is always an uplifting experience; both men will be more confident and relaxed in the second round, even though neither man is likely to be accorded elite status on the red clay. Swing from the heels, fellas; it's all gravy.
The other glass, the one half-empty, is in Sam Querrey's hands today. He lost his first-rounder to, of all people, Robby Ginepri. It was a four-set routine job for Ginepri, but you had to feel for Sam, who's played well in Europe this spring. It isn't easy having to face a countryman who's got a solid baseline game in the world championships on clay (why Ginepri even at his best was so much better on hard courts than on clay remains one of tennis' great mysteries, if not a major one).
I like to look at the context in some of these early-round matchups, because they can be thorny, or contextually murky. The looming question in this one was: What exactly did Querrey have to gain? I know the obvious answer: a W, which comes with a ticket into the next round. You keep piling those up and the next thing you know you're in the quarters, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal is across the net, and the whole world - including your aunt Mabel in Indianapolis - has got the television turned on even though it's two o'clock on a weekday afternoon.
!100503051 But really - Ginepri has been off the radar, more or less written off as a factor on the world stage, as well as in the future of the U.S. game. He's been in and out of the top 100 lately, after having been deep into the Top 20 at one point in his career. And he's just 27 years old, and under the wing of Jose Higueras.
A guy in Ginepri's position (currently, No. 98) can get a hate on - nothing personal, Sam! - at his situation, even if it is of his own making, or determined by bad luck or unforeseen circumstances, including injury. When you get to the point where Ginepri currently is, many of the things you played for when you were arcing upward, and your name was on many lips, have slowly fallen or been stripped away. In some ways, it's the time when you find out what you're made of - where your motivation lies, and how much faith you have in yourself. That's because, all financial considerations aside, you're playing for one thing and one thing alone - personal pride.
I don't know how well Querrey and Ginepri get on; for all I know they're great buddies. But many Americans are hoping that we're at the start of the Querrey/John Isner era; the fact that the two big galoots are good friends only makes the prospect more appealing. You can see where Ginepri might be thinking, Hey, what about me, what am I, chopped liver? These dynamics are never as clear-cut as I may be making them sound, nor are they of towering significance; I doubt that Ginepri has been sitting in his hotel room, plotting to take back the reputation he once enjoyed and the hope that was once invested in him. But I also think he had plenty of motivation to go out and make a statement - to assert himself and remind everyone that he shouldn't be counted of the mix just yet.
Querrey was in a somewhat tricky position, subject to a surprising amount of pressure. I'm sure he didn't take Ginepri lightly, and I can't imagine that he went out there thinking about the pecking order in the U.S. game. This was a match Querrey needed to win to maintain and move forward the status quo, but also a win from which he had not that much to gain, against a guy who didn't have a whole lot to lose. That Querrey and Ginepri were teammates at last week's ATP World Team Cup event in Dusseldorf (Ginepri was a sub for Isner) only helps put these issues into perspective.
When we look at the draw at a Grand Slam event, we scout for the most appealing match-ups. We're tempted to look beyond certain matches (like this one) that aren't especially sexy and focus on things like Querrey having a winnable second-rounder against Potito Starace, or a gut-check third-rounder against David Ferrer. Somehow, you don't really see Querrey losing in the first round at Roland Garros to Robby Ginepri, although only a fool would think that could never happen.
So the upshot is that Isner will be Roddick's wingman at Roland Garros, starting in the second round. Let's hope they both survive.
Also, you may have noticed that Kimiko Date Krumm, fresh from her 12-year layoff from the tour (it kind of puts Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin in perspective, right?), put out Dinara Safina earlier today. But wait, Date Krumm is Japanese, and married to a German race car driver, right?
Forget it, I'm claiming her for the U.S. I don't care what the rules or protocols are for passports and all that junk, or even what her chances are to win the title at Roland Garros, this is the lady I want on my team. Have another hot dog and Coke, Kimiko. I wish I were in Paris to write a post about you.