from the official ATP tennis website
20 February 2004

Former World No. 1s Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero will meet in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Ferrero won his third consecutive third-set tie-break Saturday to reach his first final of the year, rallying from a set down for the second straight match to defeat defending champion Max Mirnyi 6-7, 6-3, 7-6(4).

En route to the final Ferrero won third set tie-breaks against John van Lottum in the second round, Raemon Sluiter in the quarterfinals (when he saved two match points) and against Mirnyi. In contrast, Hewitt has not dropped a set en route to the final.
The Australian and former two-time year-end World No. 1 continued his domination of Tim Henman, defeating the Briton for the seventh time in seven meetings to advance to his second final of the year. Hewitt won 6-3, 6-3 to improve his 2004 match record to 13-1.

What the players said
Ferrero: “I think I played a really good match from the beginning. In the first set I had the opportunity to win easier. I tried to be focused on my game, and not to relax all match. I know if I could break his serve I could win the set and also the match.”

“I had opportunities to win at 5-4 and serving but he played a very good game. Finally in the tie-break, I think I played really, really good.”

About the final
“He is always fighting a lot, it’s going to be a difficult match.”

Mirnyi: “It doesn’t get much closer that’s for sure.”

“Tomorrow morning I’ll depart playing Marseille, where I hopefully can continue my great form. It was a great week for me with tough matches, which is always helpful. Once you get into that situation again you know what it is like and hopefully I can come through the next time.”

FINAL PREVIEW
Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero often meet on the biggest stages. Of their past six meetings, two have been in Davis Cup finals, two have been in post-round-robin Tennis Masters Cup matches, and two Grand Slam quarterfinals. On Sunday the players meet again on another big stage – the final of the AMN AMRO World Team tournament in Rotterdam.

Hewitt leads the series 4-3 and has won three of their past four meetings, including their only previous meeting in a final – Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, where Hewitt won a cracking five-set final.

The players have taken different paths to the final. Hewitt has advanced without dropping a set; Ferrero has won his past three matches in third-set tie-breaks, including his quarterfinal win over Raemon Sluiter when the Spaniard won the tie-break 12-10 after saving two match points.

Hewitt is looking to continue his strong start to the season. Already standing eighth in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race, Hewitt is 13-1 on the season. He won the Sydney title in January and his only loss came to eventual champion Roger Federer in the fourth round at the Australian Open.

Ferrero is playing his third tournament of the year. He suffered a surprise first-round loss to big-serving Australian Chris Guccione in Sydney but then reached the Australian Open semifinals (l. to Federer).