Moya supports Ferrero
Taken from cnnsi.com (CNN & Sports Illustrated)
9 May 2002

ROME (Reuters) — World No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero has blasted organizers of the Rome Masters tournament and the ruling body of men’s tennis (ATP) for discriminating against Spanish players.

“I feel that the Spanish are not being treated in the right way and it’s about time some of the Spanish players turned up and said something about the conditions of where they’re made to play,” Ferrero said on Thursday.

The Spaniard, seeded third and defending champion, was annoyed after being relegated to court six for his third-round defeat to Croatian Ivan Ljubicic on Wednesday.
“When [Carlos] Moya was number one in the world, he did not get the right treatment when he had to play,” said Ferrero. “The Spanish are not treated the right way and something should be done about it.”

Moya backed his compatriot.

“He’s Spanish, he’s a tennis player, so I agree with him and I support him until the end,” he said.

Moya said he too was assigned an outside court at Indian Wells in 1999 while at the peak of the world game.

“For the ten days that I was number one I think I deserved to play at least the first match on centre court but they didn’t give me that chance,” said Moya.

Baseliner Ferrero, the pre-tournament favorite, vented his frustration after being beaten 7-5 6-2 by Ljubicic.

The Spaniard’s defeat is also likely to hamper his preparations for the French Open, which starts on May 27.

“The condition of the court was not ideal, and I’m a little bit fed up that I had to play on that court,” he said.

“I’m number three in the world, I did not play centre court and I did not play on the pallacorda [the Foro Italico's second show court].

“[Instead] I had to play on a court where the conditions were not good.”

Ferrero said court six had been uncovered during Wednesday’s torrential rain.

“The other courts were covered but that court was not covered so it’s been receiving a lot of water all day.”

Moya said it was a “shock” to see Ferrero on a minor court.

“I think he should have played on centre court or at least on the pallacorda.

“There were some other matches yesterday which didn’t deserve to be on pallacorda or centre court. Ferrero playing out there was a shock to me,” he said.

In 2000, Spaniards Alex Corretja and Albert Costa complained about unfair treatment and both boycotted Wimbledon after they were not seeded for the grasscourt grand slam tournament, despite being ranked in the top 16 in the ATP rankings.

“I don’t know if it’s a problem against the Spanish or not. I don’t know if they like us or not,” said Moya.

Moya supports Ferrero
ROME (AP) — Spain’s Carlos Moya said Thursday that he supports countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero’s complaints toward tennis officials.

Ferrero complained after his second-round loss Wednesday at the Rome Tennis Masters Series that as the event’s defending champion he should not have had to play on an outer court.

“I am a little bit fed up that I had to play on that court,” said Ferrero, who was the No. 3 seed. “I feel that the Spanish are being treated not in the right way. When Moya was No. 1, he did not get the right treatment when he had to play. Now I’m No. 3 in the world and I did not get to play on center court.”

Moya, who held the world’s No. 1 ranking for two weeks in 1999, said Ferrero was right to complain.

“He’s the last champion and he deserves to play on a better court,” said Moya, who advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist on center court.

Ferrero was beaten in straight sets Wednesday by Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic on the Foro Italico’s court 6, while American Andre Agassi was playing on center court and local favorite Andrea Gaudenzi was playing on the pallacorda, the venue’s second-biggest showcase.

“Well he’s Spanish and he’s a tennis player, so I agree with him, and I support him until the end,” Moya said. “I don’t know what they think about the Spanish players, if they like us or not. This is not my business.”

An ATP Tour spokesman denied Ferrero had been treated unfairly.

“We believe that under no circumstances the ATP or the tournament wanted to penalize him,’ the spokesman, Nicola Arzani, said. “With 16 matches going on at once, you can’t please everybody.”

Spanish players have also complained to Wimbledon officials over the past few years, saying they deserved higher seedings at the grass-court tournament.