Posts Tagged ‘articles’

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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from Reuters
25 May 2004

PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) – Defending French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, doubtful before the tournament with a rib injury, beat German Tommy Haas 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 to ease into the second round on Tuesday.

The Spaniard, seeded fourth, only made a last-minute decision to play but recovered from an erratic start to seal victory in two hours and 46 minutes.

Two years ago, Ferrero was also on the verge of retiring because of an ankle problem and went on to reach the final.

He faced a tricky opening match against Haas, ranked number two in the world in 2002, the year he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros.

by Araz Gulekjian
25 May 2004
Embattled defending champion Juan-Carlos Ferrero (No4) needed the help of painkillers to withstand a stiff challenge from Germany’s Tommy Haas and move into the second round.
The courageous Spaniard, who has been nursing a rib injury for weeks, recovered from a set down to oust Haas 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-2.
“A half an hour before the match, I took some painkillers. I’m just starting to feel the pain again now,” said Ferrero, who has never fared worse than the semi finals in four previous trips here.
The 24-year-old was clearly hampered by the injury though, uncommonly inconsistent and never able to deploy his explosive clay-court game.
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from sun-sentinel.com by Charles Bricker
24 May 2004
PARIS: Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero had just gotten back from Spain’s royal wedding and now, after another painful training session Sunday, he sounded as if he was headed for a wake.
Looking despondent and sounding pessimistic, Ferrero admitted that he is still in pain from a rib injury that felled him three weeks ago and that he is less than 50-50 to go on court for his opening match Tuesday against Tommy Haas, the former world No. 2.
“I think I have more possibilities to not play, but I don’t know yet for sure. Tomorrow, I will know,” said Ferrero, who raced through surprise finalist Martin Verkerk a year ago to win the 2003 French.
If he withdraws, it will send a fourth lucky loser, Hyung-Taik Lee of South Korea, into the main draw to play Haas, who also is not in the best of health. Haas, the German star who lives in Sarasota, is trying to get rid of chest congestion brought on by a viral infection two weeks ago in Hamburg.
A Ferrero withdrawal also will put American Robert Kendrick, who lives part time on Sanibel Island, one spot away from becoming the fifth lucky loser.
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from scotsman.com by Moira Gordon
23 May 2004
WHEN Juan Carlos Ferrero won at the French Open at Roland Garros 12 months ago, he honoured a bet to take a pair of clippers and shear the locks off his backroom staff. A year on, just making it into the second week of the event could prove to be a closer shave.
Such is the strength in depth of the men’s game as they embark on the second Grand Slam of the year that any one of well over half a dozen players could be considered genuine title contenders on the Paris clay as the tournament gets underway again this week.
Which is bad news for the Spaniard. With the challenge from his rivals looking stronger than ever, the 23-year-old is struggling to find the mettle and the stamina needed to succeed in rudimentary competition, let alone a two-week Grand Slam slog, with four and five-set battles more likely than not. He pushed himself to the limits in 2003 and, granting himself little respite before the new campaign got underway, when he chose to represent his country rather than take a much needed breather, the player, who only just lost out to Andy Roddick in the Champions Race, is weaker, mentally and physically than he would like as he goes into his favoured slam.
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from Tennis Week by Richard Pagliaro
22 May 2004
The Mosquito’s baseline bite helped him soar to supremacy in Paris last year. But illness, injury and inadequate preparation have set a fly-trap that may well sap the sting from defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in his efforts to raise the Roland Garros title trophy again.
Roland Garros begins on Monday. The draws for the clay-court drama were released today and present challenging pictures for three of the primary contenders: top-seeded Roger Federer, third-seeded Guillermo Coria and Ferrero.
In the past, the tournament has served as a clay-court canvas for skilled clay-court players to produce a Parisian paradise with their signature strokes. Ferrero crafted his first Grand Slam championship on the red clay last year, but the man affectionately nicknamed “The Mosquito” must face a series of adversaries — wrist and rib injuries that have limited him to one light practice session this week — before he even gets to his experienced opening-round opponent, former No. 2 Tommy Haas. The fourth-seeded Ferrero is 2-0 against Haas, with both wins coming on clay, but the unseeded German claimed his first career clay-court championship in Houston last month beating defending Andy Roddick in the final.
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