Ginepri upsets Blake as Roddick moves on in San Jose tennis
SAN JOSE, California, Feb 22, 2008 (AFP) — Robby Ginepri upset second-seeded James Blake in straight sets here Friday to reach the semi-finals of the 436,000-dollar SAP Open ATP tennis tournament.
Unseeded Ginepri ousted Blake 6-2, 6-2 as the world No. 9 fell short of a title for the second week in a row.
Last week Blake was stunned in the Delray Beach final by Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori. He had beaten Ginepri in the semi-finals to reach the title match there.
However, Ginepri, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 15 in December 2005 but entered this tournament ranked 138th, had little trouble against Blake.
Ginepri, 25, will next face fourth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, who defeated Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
Top-seeded Andy Roddick moved closer to a first title of the season with a 7-6 (8/6), 1-6, 7-5 victory over fellow American Mardy Fish.
Roddick skipped Delray Beach last week after participating in the first round of the Davis Cup the week before.
The only former champion entered here, Roddick got his 2008 season off to a lackluster start when he fell in five sets to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round of the Australian Open.
But Roddick has bounced back here, surviving a first-round scare from Chris Guccione before rolling to a straight-set victory over Nishikori in the second round.
In the semi-finals, Roddick will face Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who won a thriller over American John Isner 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (13/11).
Garcia-Lopez overcame 22 aces by Isner, who squandered four match points and remains in search of his first career ATP title.
