from the official Rotterdam website
18 February 2004

Although Juan Carlos Ferrero lived up to expectations by beating Dennis van Scheppingen, the Dutchman made life extremely difficult for the Spaniard: 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Ferrero was off to a flying start in front of the capacity crowd. He quickly built up a 5-0 lead, which allowed him to take the first set. In contrast, the second set went with service. In the end, Ferrero’s iron nerves prevailed during the tiebreak.

“It was a shame that I had such a poor start” Van Scheppingen said afterwards. “Very few of my first serves landed inside the lines, and I made far too many mistakes. The second set was very different, and I managed to keep pace with Ferrero”. Van Scheppingen is due to play the qualifiers in Marseille next Saturday.

It was Ferrero’s first ATP match following a short break. The winner of Roland Garros sustained a hamstring injury during the Australian Open. “I am very grateful that I was allowed to start on Wednesday. Although my next opponent, John van Lottum, is another Dutchman, I really don’t mind. My aim is to win the tournament.”