This victory should boost him from ATP World Tour No. 95 to around No. 55, and the champion is looking forward to the opportunities that come with a higher ranking. “I should be able to get into more tournaments this fall, in Asia and Europe. Hopefully I can get back in the top 30 and get into the Masters series,” Ginepri said.


Stick a Sword in Him…

Sam Querrey, on the other hand, came out flat today, hitting only 37 percent of his first serves. He also played carelessly - leading 40-love or 40-15 several times, he went for a big second serve or a monster forehand and usually missed, helping Ginepri earn three breaks in the match.


“I wasn’t serving that well, so I thought I might as well try to hit an ace. It didn’t really work,” Querrey said in the post-match interview. “It’s hard to complain about being in a final. Hopefully, next week will be another good one in L.A.” The 21-year-old heads into the second event of the US Open Series with a career-high ATP World Ranking of number 31.
The Samurai, who had been so entertaining and energetic this week at Querrey’s matches, were oddly subdued during the final. Even the bongo drum seemed quieter. The T-shirt slingshot stayed sheathed along with their fighting words, as the chest-painted cheering section failed to rally the crowd to get behind their man. Sharpen your swords, boys. It’s a long road to Flushing Meadows.


Double the Fun

Ernests Gulbis probably is still grinning big, hours after winning the doubles title with Dmitry Tursunov. The Latvian can’t wipe the smile off his face when he takes the court with the cut-up from Sacramento. Or maybe he’s overjoyed from the return of a familiar feeling: winning.

Gulbis shanked two shots to hand the second set to top seeds Ashley Fisher and Jordan Kerr in the competitive doubles final, but he made up for it with a pair of aggressive shots to even up the super tie-break: first a dipping forehand pass, then a backhand poach volley. On match point, Gulbis blasted a serve to Kerr and saw a stab return come back deep, then directed a backhand down the line to seal his first title with the Russian in their first try at playing together, 6-4, 3-6, 11-9.


The winners kept their bromance going in the interview room, needling each other without much urging. Gulbis claimed to be sick of playing with Tursunov, then the Russian said playing with a guy who lost in the first round makes the victory even more of an accomplishment for him. After joking that he and Dmitry are now focusing their efforts on making the season-ending World Tour Final in doubles, Gulbis quieted and let Tursunov, obviously the captain of this partnership, answer most of the questions - which may have proven costly. “There’s only prize money for the leader,” Tursunov claimed. “I’ll tip him.” With the partnership gelling, the Indy winners are planning to play together in Los Angeles this week.


Plane ticket, fat check, rackets…what’s missing?

Ginepri charmed the fans on his victory stroll from Stadium Court to the players’ facility. When one fan asked to redo a photo, he joked, “Did I forget to smile?” before obliging the request. He left with $80,000 in prize money, but not a piece of hardware. “They don’t give a trophy for this tournament,” he said. “It sucks. It’s the one I’ve won twice, and no trophy.” And no pictures of the ceremony stand-in trophy, either - my battery died before the awards presentation, just as Brad Gilbert smiled my way.


The Volunteer Day

Brad Guthrie and other drivers on the Transportation Committee hang out in a nondescript office near the Players’ Lounge, waiting to give someone a (cushy) lift. The drivers used to have a fleet of Mercedes Benz SUVs at their disposal when the car maker sponsored the Indianapolis Tennis Championships. Now, they chauffeur players, coaches, and other volunteers in brand-new SUVs and sedans supplied by a local dealership. Though Guthrie suspects the tournament runs a background check on them, tournament drivers need no special license.

Guthrie arrives in the afternoon after his job as a safety director for a civil contractor. He has a tournament-provided cell phone and sits near the dispatcher, who schedules pick-ups and drop-offs. Usually, Guthrie and his team drive players to hotels and the airport (neither of which are more than 10 minutes away), to a drugstore, to a restaurant, through a drive-thru, or to an outing like a concert. Sometimes the driver waits at the site to give the player a return ride. The committee also keeps a dispatcher at the official players’ hotel so they always have a ride to the tournament site. Guthrie tells us most players ride shotgun. “The players are always very pleasant,” he says.

More photos from the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships.
Photos: Megan Fernandez