Posts Tagged ‘2003’

7 June 2003

• He began playing tennis at age seven with his father, Eduardo, who often travels with his son.
• He has two sisters, Ana and Laura.
• His nicknames are “Mosquito,” due to his speed and small physique and “Chavalito,” which means “little kid”.
• As a youngster, he admired play of former No1 and two-time Roland-Garros champion Jim Courier.
• He likes to collect motor bikes and cars (his favorite is a Renault Spider).
• He is a fan of Real Madrid soccer team.
• He draws his tennis inspiration from his mother, Rosario, who passed away when he was 17.
• In 2001, he opened his own tennis school, “Equalite J.C. Ferrero” in his hometown of Villena, Alicante, to promote future tennis talents between ages 14 and 21.
• He is a friend of countryman and pro golfer Sergio Garcia.
• His career-record on clay is 119-72 and his record at Roland-Garros is 21-3.

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from ATP Insider

->> – OFF TO THE RACES…JUAN CARLOS FERRERO took some time off prior to the start of his Roland Garros campaign to visit close friend Sete Gibernau at the Le Mans race track near Paris. Gibernau won an impressive race and Ferrero saw all of it from the Telefonica Movistar box as a guest of Gibernau and Dorna. “This is as exciting as a five-set match,” said Ferrero, who takes on Albert Costa in the semifinals Friday. “Every time I came to see Sete he ended up not finishing the race. Now he not only finished but also won it. It is unbelievable.”

6 June 2003
Revenge is a dish best served cold. One long year after tasting bitter defeat at the hands of Albert Costa in the 2002 Roland-Garros Final, third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero now has a chance to take cool, calculating vengeance on the man who stole his French Open dream. The man from Valencia is being tipped to beat the man from nearby Barcelona, but that favorite status didn’t help Ferrero much last year and is unlikely to have any bearing against a man who has held onto his title with unbelievable tenacity so far.
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from the official ATP website
6 June 2003
Defending champion Albert Costa is defying the odds and baffling opponents in the process by delivering five-set performances on his way back to Roland Garros semifinals where he’ll face Juan Carlos Ferrero.
After four five-set matches and more than 18 hours of tennis through his first five rounds of play, Spain’s Albert Costa is bringing new meaning to the term, defending champion.
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4 June 2003
Fernando ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez may not be a household name, but his awesome displays of explosive hitting have certainly left an indelible impression on all those who have seen him in action so far at Roland-Garros. And who knows – if the Chilean keeps on slugging away with the unerring precision and power he has shown to date, he might even trouble the favourite for this year’s French Open, Juan-Carlos Ferrero in Wednesday’s quarter final. Finalist last year, the Spaniard has been in imperious form so far, able to perform well within himself and still stroll to the last eight.
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from AFP
3 June 2003
PARIS (AFP) – Spanish third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, last year’s runner-up, ripped past 20th-seeded compatriot Felix Mantilla 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s French Open singles.
Ferrero will next meet Chilean 19th seed Fernando Gonzalez, who dished out a similar thrashing to Finnish 30th seed Jarkko Nieminen, whom he dismissed 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
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