Posts Tagged ‘2003’

from the official Roland Garros website by Nyree Epplett
2 June 2003
And then there were four…
Serial semi finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero continued his love affair with the red dirt on Monday, winning the battle of the Spaniards on Suzanne Lenglen Court. Ferrero easily eliminated countryman Felix Mantilla in straight sets 6-2 6-1 6-1 to advance to his fourth consecutive French Open quarter final.
Ferrero’s victory over his close friend means that there are four Spaniards left in the men’s singles (the most of any country). Two of those (Albert Costa and Tommy Robredo) will enter fourth round contests (against Arnaud Clement and Andre Agassi respectively) later Monday afternoon. The other – Carlos Moya – has already booked his place in the quarters.
(more…)

from the official Roland Garros website by Araz Gulekjian
2 June 2003
Spanish No3 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero admits that his highly anticipated quarter final match against big-hitting Chilean Fernando Gonzalez will be no cakewalk.
“With Gonzalez, his second or third shot is going to be a cannonball. You don’t have much of a chance. It’s going to be a stronger, much more aggressive game, especially when he returns the shots well,” Ferrero said after his three-set 6-2 6-1 6-1 annihilation of compatriot Felix Mantilla early Monday.
No19 seeded Gonzalez dished out a similar trashing, easing into his first ever quarter final here with a 6-3 6-3 6-2 whitewash over Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.
Ferrero is wary of the 1.83 smashballer from Santiago who is blessed with a serve that regularly flies past the 200km/h mark.
(more…)

The ATP this week begins a new series featuring the personalities behind the players of the ATP circuit.
2002 in Review
I think I played very well, from January to the end of the year because when I started the year I had a few injuries and I could not play Australia and some tournaments in the beginning. But I think finally I played very well, reaching the final of the Masters Cup and finishing No.4.
Greatest victory in 2002
Maybe Monte-Carlo. I played the final in Roland Garros but I could not win, so I think the greatest victory for me was in Monte-Carlo.
Greatest victory in my career
The Davis Cup was the most important one for me and for Spain.
Goals for 2003
If I am not No.1, I would like to be in the top five and to try and win one Grand Slam because I have played two big finals but I could not win. I try to improve mentally. It is tough to be positive the whole year because the year is very long.
(more…)

from the official Roland Garros website by Nyree Epplett
29 May 2003
Third seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero moved swiftly into the third round early Thursday, after his opponent, Chilean Nicolas Massu retired injured during their encounter on Court Two.
2002 finalist Fererro, one of the big threats for this year’s singles title, had forged a comfortable 6-2 3-0 lead before Massu called it a day. The 23-year-old Chilean sprained his left ankle during his first round win over Magnus Norman and it had failed to heal in time for today’s match.
(more…)

from Reuters by Francois Thomazeau
27 May 2003
PARIS (Reuters) – Juan Carlos Ferrero eased into the second round of the French Open at the expense of Swiss Michel Kratochvil and then revealed a fortune-teller had told him he would win the tournament.
“I went to see a fortune-teller and he told me it was going to be my year,” said the third-seeded Spaniard after his 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 victory.
If his progress at Roland Garros is to be trusted, Ferrero should be expected to triumph at last, having been a semi-finalist two years ago before losing in the final to compatriot Albert Costa last year.
(more…)

from Eurosport UK
21 May 2003
One week ahead of Roland Garros, the men’s draw is more open than ever. On any given day, any one of the top clay court specialists can excel and the all-Argentine sweep into the semis in Hamburg only adds to the confusion, writes Gregory Lanzenberg.
Perhaps, the one name that most have stricken from their short list is defending champion Albert Costa, who hasn’t scored any probing results since his win in Paris one year ago.
The best one can do ahead of the second grand slam of the year is break down the favourites into the up-and-coming talent versus the veterans.
(more…)