Posts Tagged ‘2003’

from the official Roland Garros website by Eric Salliot
19 May 2003
After winning in Monte-Carlo, Juan Carlos Ferrero surprised everybody by declaring his intention to one day win the US Open and “prove that Spaniards can win on other surfaces than clay.” This being said, the man from Valencia knows deep down that his best chance to win a major is in Paris, and after reaching two semi-finals and losing in last year’s final to countryman Albert Costa, many pundits make him top choice to triumph in 2003.
This Spring has seen Juan Carlos run into a rich vein of form on clay, winning nineteen times and only losing twice: against Marat Safin in the semis in Barcelona and versus Roger Federer again in the semis in the Italian Open on 10 May. The latter defeat came when Juan Carlos was forced to retire hurt while trailing 6/2, 4-2 due to pain in his right arm.
“I felt the first twinges in my first game of the tournament and then it got worse against Roger. It’s swollen up but it’ll be fine after 4 or 5 days rest” he declared in Rome. Antonio Martinez’s charge can count himself lucky the injury didn’t occur any later. “In retrospect, I suppose playing 4 or 5 weeks in a row is a bit much…much too much. Last year I didn’t play in the tournament in Majorca but this year it was moved to Valencia so I just had to be there” said the n°3 in the ATP Champions Race.
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from Reuters
11 May 2003
BERLIN, May 11 (Reuters) – Juan Carlos Ferrero has followed Andre Agassi out of the Hamburg Masters Series, meaning the top two players in the ATP Champions Race will miss the event starting on Monday.
Organisers said on Sunday that the Spaniard had told them he would not come because of a shoulder injury which forced him to retire in his semi-final against Swiss Roger Federer at the Rome Masters on Saturday.
The injury is a major blow for Ferrero, currently second behind Agassi in the Champions Race, in his warm-up to the French Open, starting on May 26, for which he will be one of the favourites if fully fit.
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from Reuters
10 May 2003

ROME, May 10 (Reuters) – The combined forces of fourth seed Roger Federer and an Italian prankster proved too much for Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, who retired from his Rome Masters semi-final on Saturday when losing 6-2 4-2.

The match between Ferrero, winner of 21 out of 22 claycourt encounters this year, and Federer, who has only lost one set in nine matches on clay in 2003, had been eagerly awaited.

Number two seed Ferrero was serving to level the second set at 3-3 when Federer approached the umpire to question a late line call.

That proved the cue for Gabriele Paolini — known as the prophylactic prophet — to leap from his seat at the side of the court and throw condoms at the players.

Paolini has disrupted other events using the same tactic as he tries to publicise the use of condoms after one of his friends died of Aids.

After several minutes security guards led Paolini from the court amid chants from the crowd of “imbecile”, but Ferrero’s concentration was broken and Federer won the next two points to break serve for a 4-2 lead.

In the following game Ferrero threw in the towel, citing an inflammation of his shoulder.

from AFP
10 May 2003
ROME (AFP) – Switzerland’s Roger Federer won through to the final of the 2.45-million-euro Rome Masters Series after defeating Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The number four seed clinched his place in Sunday’s finale after Ferrero, the number two seed, retired with a right shoulder injury when trailing 6-2, 4-2.
Federer will face Felix Mantilla after the unseeded Spaniard ousted two-time Grand Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the day’s other semi-final.
Winner of his third ATP title of the season in Munich last week, Federer expressed sympathy for his opponent, but admitted he was delighted at making the final.
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Tournament Tales
from ATP Insider
8th May 2003
TOURNAMENT TALES
->> – IN ROME: Spanish stars JUAN CARLOS FERRERO and CARLOS MOYA took in some of the sights in Rome during the Telecom Italia Masters. Ferrero was given a tour of some of the city’s most famous landmarks, while Moya took time out on Monday to go shopping at the famous Georgio Armani store.
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The Swiss encounters his first set-loss of the week against Italian wild card Filippo Volandri
from ATP Tennis
7 May 2003
Fourth seed Roger Federer ousted wild card and crowd favorite Filippo Volandri 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, thus winning his 35th match of the 2003 season. The Italian handed Federer his first set-loss since falling to Albert Costa in the Miami quarterfinals in March.
Federer’s semifinal opponent is No. 2 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, who improved his 2003 record on clay to 21-1 by scoring a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Germany’s Rainer Schuettler.
Ferrero competes in Rome for the fourth time in his career and holds a 13-2 record at the Foro Italico. It was here that the 23-year-old captured his first Tennis Masters Series title in 2001 and has lifted a total of three Tennis Masters Series shields in his career. The other two are Monte Carlo in 2002 and 2003.
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