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Ferrero & Moya Power Ahead

kat — Sun, 27 Apr 2003 05:37:38 +0000

Marat Safin survives a thriller against Gaudio
from the official ATP website
26 April 2003

Spanish stars, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, both moved closer to a rendezvous in the final of the Open SEAT Godo 2003 in Barcelona Friday when each of them notched straight set victories over their quarterfinal opponents. Ferrero, who has now won 10 consecutive matches in the month of April since losing to Marcelo Rios at the NASDAQ-100 Open, defeated No. 7 seed Gustavo Kuerten, while Moya defeated the only unseeded player left in the draw.

Ferrero took the first set and broke Kuerten in his final service game to win 6-4, 6-4 and move into the semifinals of the event for the third time in four years. Moya had little trouble with Estoril champion Nikolay Davydenko, winning 6-3, 6-4. Davydenko broke Moya to start the match, but the Spaniard’s all-court game, mixing drop shots and forehand winners, overwhelmed the 21-year-old Russian, who has captured two ATP titles this year. Moya is into his fourth ATP semifinal on the year.
Agustin Calleri, who fell to Davydenko two weeks ago in the final at Estoril, advanced to his third clay-court semifinal of the year in six clay court tournaments. He came back from a set down against Spain’s Tommy Robredo in a match that went well over two hours. Calleri is now 16-4 on clay including a title in Acapulco in February.

In the day’s last quarterfinal, No. 4 seed Marat Safin managed to survive a two hour, 43-minute thriller against the fiesty Gaston Gaudio. Early in the match, the Russian was in complete control with a 6-4, 4-1 lead. But Gaudio came bounding back to win the second set. The third set proved to be a dog fight, with Safin finally winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, saving two match points.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Moya: “I found it difficult to get into the match until I broke his serve. I was surprised by the level of his game. Davydenko is a much better player now compared to the last time we played against each other. I knew he was in good form since he won Estoril two weeks ago and we were playing in the quarterfinals of Barcelona today. You don’t reach the quarterfinals of Barcelona unless you are playing well.”

“It was a short match. I always like to win the match as quickly as I can. The fewer minutes you are on the court, the more strength you will have in the next round.”

“I often reach the semifinals and then lose. I mustn’t lose sight of where I am in the tournament. There is still some way to go. First I am going to play tomorrow and see what happens.”

“As the week has gone on, I have been serving better. This allows me to play me off my forehand.”

On playing Calleri
“I have always beaten him in the past, but it is going to be hard. He’s a player who doesn’t like to move around the court to much.”

Accounting for his recent form
“I used to lose my concentration when I was taking a big lead in a match. I have learnt how to focus and concentrate again when this happens.”

Ferrero: “It was a much quicker today compared to our previous matches. Kuerten was eager to keep the rallies fast. We were hitting the ball hard out there. To tell you the truth, I was serving really well the entire match. When it came down to the crucial points, I played them better than Kuerten.”

“We are likely to meet again at Roland Garros. Kuerten has an amazing charisma and can find energy from nowhere. He always arrives in Paris with a lot of confidence and plays his best tennis there with a lot of support of the crowds.”

“I don’t think I am in a position to complain if I am playing my best tennis now before my home crowd. It is hard for any player to play consistently well during the whole year. My level may drop a bit up until Roland Garros, but I hope it won’t be next week when I play in Valencia.”

On playing Safin or Gaudio
“I have had a lot of hard matches this week and tomorrow will be no exception. No matter who wins between Safin or Gaudio, we are sure to have a big rivalry.”

Calleri: “I could sense Tommy (Robredo) was tired today and I took advantage of it as I am in really good shape. He played a long match yesterday against Corretja and I knew I would be in better shape if the match went to three sets.”

On tomorrow’s match against Moya
“Moya is a former world No. 1 and champion of Roland Garros. I think that speaks for itself. It is going to be a complicated match, but I am in good form.”

Robredo: “Of course I am disappointed to have lost today; you always are after losing a match. I am happy though with the way I have been playing recently. Over the coming weeks I will be playing the Tennis Masters Series in Rome and Hamburg before Paris. My goal now is to play my best tennis at these events.”

Kuerten: “In the first set, I wasn’t that comfortable on court. I hadn’t played on the center court this week and I had difficulty seeing the ball. By the second set, I thought I was playing better. I would have liked to see the match go into a third set but I missed too many points. With Ferrero, you can’t afford to miss any shots.”

“I left the court very happy with the way I was hitting the ball. I think I have stepped up my play from Monte-Carlo last week. I am beginning to gain respect on clay again. Ferrero never dominated me. I was in control of the match.”

“I am going to take this week to prepare for Rome, Hamburg and Paris. I want to arrive at Roland Garros having reached the semifinals or final of one of the two events leading up to it. My main goal is to do well in Paris.”

“This tournament in Barcelona is like a Master Series. All the best players have come here from Monte-Carlo. I felt very good here from the day I arrived. I felt very welcome at the club.”

Safin: “It was a tough match. I started to play well and take an early lead at 4-1. Then be broke back but I still managed to take the set at 6-4. I couldn’t finish the match in the second set. By the third set, he started to play much better. I lost my tennis a little bit in the second and third sets but I fought hard. I fought and I eventually won the match.”

SATURDAY MATCHES

Two scintillating semifinals Saturday at the Open SEAT Godo 2003 in Barcelona. No. 2 seed Carlos Moya, looking to get into his third final on the year, takes on Argentina’s Agustin Calleri. A tournament win by Moya in Barcelona would move him to second in the ATP Champions Race 2003, while Calleri sits just outside the Top 10 in this year’s Race. Moya won all three previous matches against Calleri, including a straight sets win on clay last year in Bastad en route to the title there.

Juan Carlos Ferrero will take on No. 4 seed Marat Safin in the day’s other semifinal. Ferrero could vault past Rainer Schuettler, currently second in the ATP Champions Race 2003, with a semifinal victory on Saturday. But he’s not guaranteed of finishing the tournament second in the Race since Moya could pass Ferrero if he wins the event. Safin, meanwhile, will be playing his first semifinal of 2003, having had a disappointing start to the year.

Moya and Ferrero have a great tradition of playing at this event. They have faced each other three out of the past four years, with the last two victories going to Ferrero. He defeated Moya in the final of the Open SEAT Godo 2001. A possible Sunday final in Barcelona would be a delight for the Spanish crowd.

Ferrero & Moya Continue Winning Ways

kat — Sat, 26 Apr 2003 05:48:50 +0000

Marat Safin Also Reaches Quarterfinals
from the official ATP website
25 April 2003

Top seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated Italian qualifier Filippo Volandri Thursday at the Open SEAT Godo 2003 in Barcelona, while two other Spaniards also advanced into Friday’s quarterfinals. After going down 4-0 in the first set, Volandri fought back, but Ferrero closed out the first and moved into the quarterfinals of a tournament for the fifth time in 2003 with a 6-4, 6-4, victory.

Volandri, who has qualified for two consecutive tournaments, going 9-2 during that time and breaking into the Top 100, will likely move up another five positions when the ATP Rankings come out on Monday.

Ferrero next faces Gustavo Kuerten, who received a walkover when ninth-seeded Younes El Aynaoui withdrew from the event due to a throat and ear infection. Kuerten’s coach, Larri Passos, had originally wanted to avoid telling him that El Aynaoui was forced to withdraw from the tournament, so that Kuerten would be very focused in the morning practice. But El Aynaoui had already explained the situation and word got out that Kuerten had received a walkover.
In other matches, 12th-seeded Tommy Robredo battled through two tough sets with Alex Corretja before pulling away in the third set for the win in the first ATP meeting between these two. Last year’s finalist Albert Costa was soundly defeated in straight sets by Argentine Agustin Calleri. Calleri is putting together an excellent 2003 season on clay. He is now 15-4 on the year on terre battue with titles in Acapulco and a run to the final (l. to Davydenko) in Estoril two weeks ago. But he is just 3-5 on hard courts in 2003.

Second-seeded Carlos Moya moved comfortably into the quarterfinals with a win over Dominik Hrbaty. Moya is looking for a match-up in the final with top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero — a match-up that looked to happen last week at the Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo, before Guillermo Coria surprised Moya in the semifinals.

Marat Safin picked up one of his best wins on the season so far with a straight set dismantling of Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. The last time these two played on clay Nieminen defeated Safin en route to the final at the 2002 Estoril Open, but today Safin turned the tables and took a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head series. Safin won this Barcelona event in 2000.

Safin’s countryman Nikolay Davydenko defeated Jose Acasuso in straight sets and has yet to lose a set this week. Davydenko is the only unseeded player through to the quarterfinals.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Kuerten: “It wasn’t a normal day to wake up in preparation to play and Younes (El Aynaoui) was sick. It is strange to say something about today. I don’t want to take it for granted. I want to forget that I got a walkover to the next round. I’m am taking today as an opportunity to practice hard for tomorrow’s match. I am obviously happy to be in the quarterfinals already and I am looking forward to my next match.”

On his next opponent:
“If I play Ferrero, it is going to be a great test to measure how well I am playing right now.”

Calleri: “I was playing aggressively from the start of the match. I felt I was dominating most of the points and serving very well today.”

On his next opponent:
“The last time I played Robredo was in the semifinals of Estoril. I was playing well and I beat him. It has been a long time since I played against Corretja. Against either opponent, I will continue to play here with a lot of confidence having won an ATP tournament in Acapulco and reached the final of Estoril. This is a very important tournament on the calendar and I want to do my best here.”

Safin: “I don’t feel under pressure or rushed right now. I like this tournament. It has a great atmosphere. I won the tournament three years ago, but a lot of things have changed. I won the tournament when I was ranked in the 30s. Now, I am the man to beat.”

“My game is to play quickly and get the pressure on my opponents. I have a system on court. If I lose that, I lose everything. I need to keep motivated and aggressive.”

“I need hard matches to build up my confidence again. I want to win tournaments and find the points again.”

On Roland Garros
“I arrived to Roland Garros feeling very tired last year. At least this year, the positive side of my injuries is that I have had a lot of time to rest.”

On possibly playing Gaudio next
“With Gaudio, you can’t let him play his game. If you do, he kills you or at least you won’t win. I will be putting the pressure on his game.”

Costa: “I don’t think I have made the full transition from hard courts to clay yet. I had a great hard court season, reaching the semifinals of Miami, but I am not finding my rhythm on clay yet. I am missing the keys of the clay court game. The shots are good, but the concept isn’t. I will be working on this aspect over the next weeks to get there.”

Volandri: “Ferrero is possibly the best player in the world right now on clay. In the first set, he ran me over like a train.”

“In juniors, I had some good results, but I didn’t find the same success on the professional tour. I needed to change something. The most important thing was my decision to practice in Monte-Carlo this winter. I am still working with the same coach, but I have a different physical trainer. In Monte-Carlo, I practised with some good players and learnt a lot from them. I feel all the hard work I have done recently is starting to pay off with good results.”

“My game is to put pressure from the baseline. My point of power is my forehand, even if I have a good backhand. I am working on improving other aspects of my game by looking and studying the other players.”

“Sure I have pressure on me now to do well in the future, but I would prefer to have this pressure having done well recently, than for people to hold low expectations of me.”

Corretja: “You reach a point when you have different priorities. I got to a stage in my career when I decided to select my tournaments and limit my schedule. This can work out well if you maintain good results, but when you don’t, you are in a difficult position. If you only play a few tournaments and do badly, you are lacking in matches. Most of the other players are constantly playing and have that advantage and rhythm over you. February 2003 was a low point in my career. I am never going back there.”

“I want to look forward and find my best tennis again. The only way I can do that is to play as many matches as I can. I will definitely accept a wild card and play in Valencia if they offer it to me.”

“For most of the match I felt superior today. I am leaving here with a good conscience in the knowledge I gave it my all.”

Moya: “Hrbaty is a good player. He’s a tough opponent to beat when he gets into the match. I am happy with the way I managed to defeat him today.”

“I personally think it is always best to win a match quickly and without any complications, but you can take some positives from winning a match have suffered.”

“My next opponent is Davydenko. He’s been playing very well, winning two titles this year and most recently in Estoril. I am still surprised to be playing him here in the quarterfinals but I will have to be very careful out there tomorrow.”

Ferrero: “A match is never easy at this level. You always have to fight and keep your concentration. I always play at a hundred percent and never underestimate my opponent.”

FRIDAY MATCHES

The blockbuster match of the day features three-time Roland Garros champion Gustavo Kuerten against two-time Roland Garros semifinalist and last year’s finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero is coming off his third Tennis Masters Series title last week in Monte-Carlo, while Kuerten reached the final of the Pacific Life Open last month in Indian Wells. The two are tied 2-2 in their head-to-head series with Guga winning both times at Roland Garros and Ferrero winning on two other occasions. Twice these players have gone the full five-set distance, so the possibility of a tough three-set match is real in Barcelona on Friday.

Tommy Robredo faces Argentina’s Agustin Calleri, who already captured a title on clay earlier this year in Acapulco. Robredo’s only career ATP title came on clay in Sopot in 2001. Carlos Moya has played Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko twice before in quarterfinals of a tournament and has won both times, going on to capture the tournament in Bastad last year after defeating Davydenko in straight sets.

In the day’s other quarterfinal, Marat Safin looks to reach his first semifinal on the year after a disappointing start to the season and several unlucky injuries. His last quarterfinal appearance was last year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, where he captured the title.

King Juan Carlos Reigns in Spain

kat — Mon, 30 Apr 2001 13:35:35 +0000

Taken from the Official ATP Tour website
30 April 2001

New Balls Please star Juan Carlos Ferrero captured his third title of the ATP season with a marathon five-set win against fellow countryman Carlos Moya in Barcelona.

Ferrero, who saved two match points in his first round win against Adrian Voinea, won the Open Seat Godo 2001 with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory in a match that lasted 4 hours, 9 minutes in front of a capacity crowd at the Real Club de Tenis.

“I will remember this final for many years, and I am sure the people will remember it as well,” said Ferrero, who moves to fourth position in the ATP Champions Race 2001. “I’ve never played such a tough final in my career before.”

Ferrero, who lost to Marat Safin in last year’s Barcelona final, now joins Race leader Andre Agassi and Gustavo Kuerten with three titles this season following his tournament victories in Dubai and Estoril. Ferrero also became the ninth Spanish winner since the tournament began in 1953 and the first person since Thomas Muster in 1996 to win Estoril and Barcelona in the same year.

No clean sweep for Spaniards
But the fourth all-Spanish final could have been a different story with Moya, four-times a losing semifinalist, having two points for double break of serve and a 4-1 final set lead.

“When I was down 3-1 and 15-40 on my serve, somewhere I found the strength to come back and win,” said Ferrero. “That’s probably because I wanted to win so badly here-I love to play in Barcelona.”

Moya, who defeated Thomas Enqvist for the first time in five meetings to reach the final, said: “It was a very tough match and it could have gone either way. I had many opportunities to win but I did not take advantage of them.”

American second seeds Don Johnson and Jared Palmer ensured the Spaniards didn’t make a clean sweep of the singles and doubles titles with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over Tommy Robredo and Fernando Vicente.

It was the duo’s second title as a team following their win in Scottsdale in March, which was their first tournament together. Palmer has now won 17 career ATP doubles titles, while Johnson is one behind on 16. Wild cards Robredo and Vicente were playing together for the first time.