from the official TMS Monte Carlo website
17 April 2003

Top seed and defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero survived another three-set thriller against Felix Mantilla to advance to the third round of Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo Wednesday. Ferrero remains unbeaten in six matches with Mantilla following his gritty 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over his countryman.

But the lopsided head-to-head record belies the evenness of their rivalry. All six matches have gone to three sets and three of the six have been decided by third-set tie-breaks, including both meetings last year.

Ferrero said: “It’s always difficult against him. Every time we played, we went to three sets, and every time the score of the third set was 7-6 or 7-5. He’s a very tough player on hard courts, but even more on clay courts. He’s a very complete player. “

“I had trouble winning points on my forehand. This is the area where I have to work. I don’t have much time to work on that before tomorrow, but I’ll try.”