Posts Tagged ‘2003’

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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Moya, Ferrero, Costa impressed by launch of all-new ATP Official Guide in Spanish.

Taking time out from preparing for this weekend’s opening round Davis Cup tie vs. Belgium in Seville, Spanish stars Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya and Albert Costa became among the first people to get a look at the all-new ATP Official Guide in Spanish.

The “Spanish Armada” trio, who all played in the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai last November, came away impressed with the “Guia oficial 2003.” Produced in conjunction with leading Spanish sports newspaper MARCA, the guide hit newsstands in Spain this week, and is now available for purchase online via ATPtennis.com.

Especially excited was Ferrero, who is featured on the guide’s cover in a striking image from Roland Garros last year, where he reached the final.

The 2003 ATP Official Guide in Spanish represents a major new venture that reflects the strength and growth of ATP tennis in Spain and Latin America. Fourteen Spanish players finished in the Top 100 of the 2002 ATP Champions Race, the seventh consecutive year that Spain has boasted more year-end Top 100 players than any other country, and many of the game’s brightest talents and rising stars – such as Gustavo Kuerten, Fernando Gonzalez and Guillermo Canas – hail from South America.

The guide offers Spanish-speaking fans more than 160 pages of behind-the-scenes features plus ATP player and tournament profiles. In addition, the guide features a selection of the best photography of the 2002 season and comprehensive facts and statistics.

Spaniard charges into quarterfinals
from the official ATP website
19 January 2003
Juan Carlos Ferrero is making up for his lost opportunity in Melbourne last year by winning through to the Australian Open quarterfinals Sunday. Ferrero, who turns 23 next month, stopped dead in its tracks the charge of 18-year-old Mario Ancic with a brutal 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Croat.
It is the first time Ferrero has passed the fourth round of a Grand Slam other than at his beloved Roland Garros, where last year he was the beaten finalist and a semifinalist the two years before that. Ferrero missed the Australian Open last year through injury.
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16 January, 2003

Juan Carlos Ferrero took a walk on the wild side, touring Melbourne Zoo on a day off from his tennis duties.

Spaniard Ferrero, who’s cruised into the third-round of the Australian Open with the loss of just 23 games, took time out to check out some of Australia’s most famous native animals during his day trip.

Some sunbathing koalas and a posse of hungry ‘roos were big favorites with the No.4 seed, who also took the opportunity to pet a friendly wombat during his visit.

There will be no monkey business for Ferrero on Day Five of Australian Open 2003, however. He faces wily Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, the tournament’s No.28 seed.

by Karen Collins
11 January, 2003
Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero has set himself up for an assault on the Australian Open after capping off another finals appearance on hard courts, although defeated 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-7 (5-7) in two hours and 37 minutes by Korean Hyung-Taik Lee in Sydney’s adidas International on Saturday.
The 2002 French Open finalist, although unhappy not to take advantage of a match point in the third set, felt he played well and pronounced himself pleased as he looked ahead to Melbourne Park.
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