articles

from the official Wimbledon website
24 June 2004
The number six seed Juan Carlos Ferrero saved two match points to defeat Stefan Koubek 4-6, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(6), 8-6 in the second round today. For much of the match it seemed that the 2003 French Open champion was destined to become the biggest casualty of The Championships to date. But he held on to win 8-6 in the fifth.
It was a boost to the Spaniard in a difficult season, after his best year to date in 2003. Chickenpox, that least fashionable of adult illnesses, cost him four weeks out in March. Then rib and wrist injuries forced another two-week lay-off in May. His late decision to attempt a defence of his title at Roland Garros ended in second round defeat. Today he was clearly in pain with a thigh injury but held on for a dramatic victory.
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from the official Wimbledon website
21 June 2004
Juan Carlos Ferrero won in straight sets in the first round at Wimbledon today. But the sixth seed was flattered by the 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 scoreline against battling Frenchman Julien Boutter.
Ferrero looked fit and well as he took a one set advantage against Boutter. The Spaniard missed four weeks off the tour suffering from chicken pox in March before sustaining wrist and rib injuries while practising for Hamburg last month.
But he was clearly in a determined mood against the Frenchman as he fought to maintain his record of never having lost a first-round match at The Championships.
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from foxsports.com
20 June 2004

Juan Carlos Ferrero says he’s relaxed, moving freely and over the rib and leg injuries that hampered him this season.

“I’m hitting the ball very good and starting to feel confident physically,” he said Saturday. “I expect I can play good tennis here.”

Ferrero lost a chance to return to the No. 1 ranking when he lost to Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals in January.

The Spaniard dropped to No. 5 after a rib injury contributed to a second-round loss last month at the French Open, where he was the defending champion.

Actually, that early exit could be a benefit ahead of Wimbledon, where play starts Monday.

“It’s good. I was practicing for weeks on synthetic grass, and I’m playing well and improving all I can on this surface,” Ferrero said. “I’m still one of the best players in the world, if I can play my best. … I will fight to be at the top again.”

from Tennis Life Magazine by Eleanor Preston
June 2004
Watching Juan Carlos Ferrero shaping up to hit one of his trademark blistering forehands is a fascinating sight. He stands his ground, legs taut and eyes on the ball, and just when you think he’s going to whack seven bells out of it, everything goes into slow motion. At that moment, as he makes contact, he is suddenly gentle, as though stroking a sleeping kitten.
Of course there’s nothing remotely gentle about it by the time it comes cannoning over the net, as all Ferrero’s opponents can testify. Of all the skills Ferrero has in his talented hands, it’s the forehand that took him to the top of the world rankings and won him the French Open title last year, and it’s the forehand that may count as the most penetrating weapon when he returns to Paris to defend his title.
However, Ferrero is anything but a one-trick pony. There’s the serve, the movement, the glacial coolness under pressure and most of all the belief that it’s his destiny to be this good.
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from Tennis Week by Ronald Green
28 May 2004
The silhouette’s sagging shoulders told the story of the one-sided scoreline: an injured Juan Carlos Ferrero was a slumping shadow of himself today. The red clay of Roland Garros served as a burial ground for the defending champion Ferrero who fell 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round to 77th-ranked Russian Igor Andreev.
It was just the fourth time in the Open Era a defending Roland Garros champion succumbed in the second round. The last time a defending champion bowed out in the second round was in 2000 when Andre Agassi was upset by Karol Kucera, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0.
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from the official Roland Garros website by Araz Gulekjian
27 May 2004
Young Russian standout Igor Andreev played like there was no tomorrow on Thursday to send fourth-seeded defending champion Juan-Carlos Ferrero home.
The 20-year-old Russian put out a brilliant performance and fired 37 winners to overpower the 24-year-old Spaniard 6-4 6-2 6-3 in just over two hours.
“It’s unbelievable,” Andreev said.
“All your dreams become true. The guy had won last year and he was No1. I just forgot about all those things and focused on my game,” added the Russian, who was playing in his first Roland Garros after making his Grand Slam debut in Australia this January.
Ferrero, still nursing bruised ribs he sustained in a fall on May 8 while practising in Spain, congratulated his opponent but vowed to set the record straight.
“He played well. He was motivated to win. But I would have beaten him and won the match had I been fit,” Ferrero said.
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