Another Teen Takes First Big-Time Steps

His phone was ringing so much that Robby Ginepri felt like a ticket broker. It was nice, but quite distracting, that so many of his friends wanted to watch him play the tour stop in Atlanta last year.

Todd Martin, the veteran of veterans, watched the scene unfold and shook his head. Finally, when Ginepri’s cell phone went off again in the locker room, half an hour before his match, Martin decided to speak to the teenager.

“Todd said, ‘Don’t you have a match to get ready for?’ ” Ginepri said. “I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Don’t you think you should focus and turn off your phone and start preparing for your match?’ I was like, ‘You have a point.’ ”

Martin, 30, has gone out of his way to help the young pro. They are represented by the same management company, and Ginepri is another one of the rapidly improving young Americans on the tour.

Martin would have been proud of his protege Monday. Ginepri, a qualifier, gained his first ATP tour victory at the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center. He beat Sebastien Lareau of Canada, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round. Lareau, who won the gold medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics, is ranked 136th in the Entry System and Ginepri 475th.

And for those who are interested--the phone was turned off before the match.

Ginepri is the youngest player in the draw at 18 years 9 months. In the third set, he broke Lareau’s serve in the fifth game at love when the Canadian hit an overhead into the net.

“First pro victory--it feels pretty amazing to get it under your belt,” Ginepri said. “I’ve been close many times. I had to play qualifying, so I’ve been here a long time, practicing a lot and playing pretty well lately. I think I wanted it a little more than he did.”

He could play No. 1-seeded Gustavo Kuerten in the second round. First, of course, Kuerten has to get past Michael Llodra of France.

“I’ve worked my whole life to see what the best is on the court, and now I have a chance to find out,” Ginepri said.

Only one of the top eight seeded players were in action opening day. In the night match, No. 7 Magnus Norman defeated Cecil Mamiit of Los Angeles, 6-4, 6-2. Of local note, Bob Bryan of Camarillo beat Anthony Dupuis of France, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-2. Bryan had 13 aces in the 1-hour 54-minute match.

Arguably, the biggest news at the tournament came off the court as No. 3-seeded Andre Agassi said he and Steffi Graf are expecting a boy in mid-December.

Despite the timing of the birth, Agassi, the two-time defending champion at the Australian Open, has not ruled out making the long trip to Melbourne in January.

“I can’t say that. Rumor has it that infants eat and sleep, so that traveling might be very possible,” he said, smiling. “That would be the last thing I would want to miss. Just pray for everything to be healthy and good and go from there. It seems like everything is in order to work out perfectly.”

Agassi will play wild-card entrant James Blake tonight in the first round, and Greg Rusedski of Great Britain awaits in the second. Rusedski, who beat Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, 6-4, 7-6 (4), felt satisfied with his first outdoor hard-court effort of the summer with 14 aces and one double fault.

Rusedski has defeated Agassi in their last two meetings, including the final at San Jose.

“I’m looking forward to the match,” Rusedski said. “This is a great test for me because coming up to the U.S. Open, you really want to play well in these tournaments, especially in Los Angeles. People who have played pretty well here in the past have done well. Andre is going to want to play well in front of his Hollywood scene sort of crowd. He likes it here.”

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