articles

from Tennis Week
19 March 2003

Juan Carlos Ferrero turned Wednesday to sundae at the Nasdaq-100 Open. The French Open finalist refused to melt beneath the searing heat as he delivered ice cream to fans from behind the counter at the Ben&Jerry’s booth in the food court.

“I love watching him play, so seeing him service ice cream is really exciting too,” one female fan said.

The third-ranked Ferrero wasn’t the only player to greet fans at the Ben&Jerry booth. Shortly after Ferrero finished his shift, Australian Open quarterfinalist Younes El Aynaoui stood in line to buy some ice cream and casually talked and joked with fans, who were also waiting in line.

from AP Sports
21 February 2003

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – Top seeded Juan-Carlos Ferrero of Spain dropped out of the ABN Amro tournament Friday after injuring his ankle during a quarterfinals match against Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands.

Leading 2-1 in the first set, Ferrero rolled his ankle during a long rally, and fell to the ground, clutching his right leg in pain. After receiving medical treatment, he eventually hobbled off the court.

Tournament doctors said he tore the outer ligament of his right ankle, and that he may also have suffered some damage to a bone in the same leg, near the calf. Tournament spokesman Richard Bezmalinovic said Ferrero will board the next possible flight to Madrid for further treatment.

Ferrero forfeited the match, and Sluiter will now face Sebastien Grosjean in the semifinals Saturday.

from Reuters by Pritha Sarkar
21 February 2003
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) – Top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and defending champion Nicolas Escude hobbled out of the World Indoor Tournament on Friday, leaving the field resembling a battlefield as both joined the casualty list.
Switzerland’s Roger Federer, however, continued his bid for a second consecutive title of the year by steamrollering Dutchman Sjeng Schalken 6-2 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Ferrero’s quarter-final ended in agony after he retired with torn ankle ligaments against local favorite Raemon Sluiter while Escude, suffering from the hamstring injury which forced him out of last week’s Marseille Open, limped out midway through the third set against Davis Cup team mate Sebastien Grosjean.
Spaniard Ferrero had a breakpoint for a 3-1 lead when, chasing a Sluiter forehand, he twisted his right ankle awkwardly and fell to the ground grimacing in pain just behind the baseline.
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from the official Davis Cup website
9 February 2003
Spain showed no mercy to Belgium on the final day of their first-round Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie on Sunday, with Juan Carlos Ferrero blasting past Kristof Vliegen 6-1 6-4 and Carlos Moya seeing off Christophe Rochus with a quicksmart 6-2 6-2.
Those comfortable singles wins completed a predictable 5-0 victory for Spain, who possess what is without doubt the strongest clay-court line-up in the world.
Ferrero kicked off the proceedings on Friday with an equally effective 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory over Christophe Rochus, who was surprisingly chosen ahead of his brother Olivier for the opening day’s singles. Moya then claimed a second straight-sets win over the Belgian number one Xavier Malisse 7-6 6-1 7-6 to make it 2-0.
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from the official Davis Cup website
8 February 2003
Juan Carlos Ferrero made short work of Belgium’s Christophe Rochus to claim a 63 62 75 victory on a bitterly cold morning in Seville on Friday and get Spain’s 2003 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas campaign off to a perfect start.
Ferrero took the first two sets in just 55 minutes with some dashing tennis from the back of a slow outdoor clay court and while the third set proved more troublesome, Rochus missing one set point, the world number three completed the win in one hour 45 minutes.
Rochus, surprisingly chosen for the singles ahead of his higher-ranked brother Olivier, did manage to cause Ferrero some problems briefly at the start and again at the end of the match.
The 24-year-old Belgian took Ferrero to deuce on his opening service game and again in game five, upsetting the Spaniard’s rhythm with a couple of astute drop shots.
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from the official Davis Cup website
7 February 2003
Clay court ace Juan Carlos Ferrero will lead off a strong Spanish challenge in the 2003 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas on Friday, taking on Christophe Rochus of Belgium in the opening singles rubber of their first-round World Group tie in Seville.
Thursday’s draw in the Andalucian city also matched up former French Open champion Carlos Moya with Belgian number one Xavier Malisse in the second singles on Friday.
Albert Costa will partner Alex Corretja in the doubles against Kristof Vliegen and Olivier Rochus on Saturday, with the reverse singles set for Sunday.
Spain, winners of the competition in 2000, have an awesome line-up on clay and they will start as overwhelming favourites to take the first-round tie against the Belgians.
Ferrero, Moya and Costa, the reigning French Open champion, are all ranked in the top 10, while Corretja is one of the wiliest clay-court campaigners around.
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