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Internazionali Bnl D’Italia: Ferrero d. Nadal 7-5 6-1

kat — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:23:59 +0000

May 7, 2008
ROME, ITALY
J. FERRERO/R. Nadal
7-5, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You looked very happy at the end the match. Can you tell us what you felt and when it meant for you?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: At first I felt really happy because, you know, I played a really good match. I played very well the whole match.
After I was very happy because I beat the best in clay court. You know, I was also happy because I never beat him — I never won a set against him on clay court, so after the match I think for all this reason that I said I was pretty happy, of course.

Q. The fact that Rafa was injured – he complained about the foot injury at the press conference here – what does that take away from your win? Do you feel it takes a little bit of shine away from your win?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Could be, could be. But I also had injury in my abductor from yesterday. I couldn’t move 100% also. And you know when you go to the court and you decide to play, I think the injury is not reason to say yes or no.
I think, you know, he play as — I think — as good as he can with the injury and everything.
You know, at the end I play a little bit better than him. I think. I think. I don’t know if it was big reason to don’t play at his best level, the injury.
Q. Since when did you feel as good as that? Yesterday? Mentally, I mean, after a match.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Well, of course it’s very important win for me and I felt special — I feel special right now. It’s true that I didn’t have, you know, this special feelings since long time ago. I don’t remember, but maybe this year I played the final Auckland, and I was pretty happy when I won the semifinal.
But of course, it’s a little bit different here because I won a special match, of course.

Q. Do you feel it can change something for you mentally that you beat Rafa? You were the best on clay and he was also.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No.

Q. In your mind?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I change some things, of course, but also because I play against him in Monte-Carlo and, you know, it was 6-4, 6-1. But I think it is very close match because we play almost all games deuce/advantage all the time.
So, you know, I change little things, but not too much. I tried to be a little bit more aggressive and try to finish the point better than the other day. Because the other day maybe my mistake was not to finish as good as today the points at the end of the point, you know?

Q. What are the feelings before the match when you’re playing Rafa who has one 100 matches on clay and you never won a set on clay. What are your feelings when you go into such a match?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: The feelings, as I said, try to play a little bit better than I did before. Because we played in Monte-Carlo, and also, of course, you try to go to the court and give your best because you don’t have reason to be with a lot of pression because he’s important on the court right now because he has the record and he has everything.
So I was trying to play at the same level that I was playing on clay courts before, and I think mentally I was so, so strong today. I had things very clear in my mind, and I got through it, you know, and I did it.

Q. Your abductor, does it feel good or okay for the rest of the tournament?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I feel okay. Last week I pull out from Barcelona because of this, and in the match of Kiefer I feel it again. You know, today I put a bandage on so it’s good and I play good. I could move well.

Q. Wawrinka just won. What are your feelings for him?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Last time I played against him was in Vienna in indoor. I never play against him in clay court, so I have to go to the court and try to play same level as I’m playing.
So I’m going to try to think of myself and not him. Of course, he’s playing good because he make semifinal last week and he’s playing good clay court.

Q. Now that the draw is very open I think, how do you rate your chances to be maybe in the final?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: It’s open, but it’s a lot of big names. I think I have to think now of Wawrinka and not more, because all matches are different and all matches are difficult. So I think Wawrinka is a big player, and tonight I’m going to think of Wawrinka and that’s it.

Q. How much do you think this loss and the injury is going to affect Nadal’s preparation for Roland Garros?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I don’t know. Maybe you have to ask him. I don’t think he’s going to change a lot, because, you know, it’s one week that he lost and he will try again to play his level in Hamburg.
He has a lot of time to prepare for Roland Garros, so I don’t think this lose is going to change a lot.

Italian prankster spells ends for sore Ferrero in Rome

kat — Sun, 11 May 2003 04:59:20 +0000

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.

Federer into final after Ferrero retires injured

kat — Sun, 11 May 2003 04:56:22 +0000

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.
“I’m sorry for Juan Carlos as I could see he was having problems,” he said. “It must be very frustrating for him.”

“But I’m very pleased to be in the final. I’m playing well and my confidence is high. I’m looking forward to it.”

Ferrero surrendered to his injury after losing his service for the third time in the second set. He had already called for medical treatment at the changearound with the score at 3-2.

Ferrero, the winner of the Monte Carlo Masters, said he would not play in Hamburg next week.

“I won’t be in Hamburg. My shoulder is swollen and I need to rest it a little,” said Ferrero. “I felt it when I was 5-2 down in the first set and it got gradually worse as the match went on.”

The top-seeded Spaniard’s injury problems come less than three weeks before the start of the French Open for which he is one of the favourites.

Mantilla, seeking his first ATP title, overcame Russian Kafelnikov 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.

ATP Insider / The Super Swiss Versus the Mighty Mantilla

kat — Fri, 09 May 2003 05:03:33 +0000

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.
The Super Swiss Versus the Mighty Mantilla
Roger Federer meets Felix Mantilla in Sunday’s final at the Telecom Italia Masters Roma.

Roger Federer advanced to the final of the Telecom Italia Masters Roma, after Juan Carlos Ferrero retired with the Swiss leading 6-2, 4-2 in their semifinal match.

The Federer-Ferrero showdown brought together two of the world’s best clay court players in the high-profile stage of a Tennis Masters Series event, but Ferrero couldn’t finish the match as inflammation in his right arm worsened. Ferrero injured his right arm in Valencia, and because of the injury the Spaniard pulled out of the Tennis Masters Hamburg which starts Monday.

Federer is now a match away from claiming his fourth ATP title of the year and his second career Tennis Masters Series trophy. The Swiss, who won the title last week in Munich, also boasts a 36-6 match record for the season, the best on the circuit. With his victory Saturday, Federer also jumped a spot to third place in the ATP Champions Race, edging Rainer Schuettler.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Federer: I was disappointed with the way the match ended but now I feel good to be in a (Tennis) Masters Series final. I won in Hamburg last year and I really want to win this title too.

It’s always something special, you know. It feels good to have won a few matches in a row. (Tennis) Masters Series are extremely tough, – six matches in seven days, you know. It takes a lot out of you.

I saw him having treatment, you know, last few days. I knew his shoulder wasn’t good. I mean, you see him in the treatment room and all this but, you know, you never know how bad it really is. It can just be prevention or all this kind of stuff.

I think this is also in one way a good week, just to get to see how the other guys play. It was good for me, and especially this week, who I played and who I beat and how I beat them, for me to know that I can hang with them from the baseline no problem. So that was good mentally.

Ferrero: On the injury
It had begun when I was playing Valencia. Today it was hurting a little bit. Then when I was serving, it hurt, a kind of sting in my arm. That’s when I knew it was getting worse.

It’s nothing serious, but it’s hurting. It’s an inflammation of 6 millimeters in my arm. I think because I’ve been traveling a lot and playing a lot of matches in a row, maybe I need some rest.

Ferrero, Federer Clash in Rome Semifinals

kat — Thu, 08 May 2003 05:05:01 +0000

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.
Unseeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov earned a place among the final four by defeating Dutch qualifier Martin Verkerk 6-3, 7-5. The Russian, who is playing in Rome for the tenth consecutive time, now holds a 16-9 record in the Italian capital.

Kafelnikov is seeking his first Tennis Masters Series title after having appeared in five finals. The last time he reached the semifinals at this level was in Paris two years ago, when he defeated Andreas Vinciguerra before falling to Sebastien Grosjean in the final. He is the player that have won the most Tennis Masters Series matches, 115, without having captured a title.

The Russian’s opponent in the semifinals is the winner between Ivan Ljubicic and Felix Mantilla, who play in the last quarterfinal of the day.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Verkerk: “I had my chances in the second set. The first set he was just too good and I was making some mistakes. He played really well today, hitting the ball deep, no mistakes. You have to have a lot of respect for the way he played.”

“I knew that I could play on any surface. I had a lot of confidence out there these last few days. To make the quarterfinals in Rome is really a great accomplishment.”

On if he could have done something differently
“I was getting a little sore in the shoulder, and maybe I should have… or could have served a little better, but really it was a great week for me.”

On what’s next?
“I am going home and will focus most importantly on getting some rest and training again. Then I am playing St. Poelten before going to Roland Garros. If I play like this I can beat a lot of players, but you never know, I could also play someone like Kafelnikov in the first round and have a tough match.”

Ferrero: “At 5-1 and set ball [in the first set], it was incredible then to be 5-4 and 15-all. I had to concentrate because it was very difficult to be 5-4 after 5-1.”

About meeting Federer
“Tomorrow is gonna be difficult. He won Hamburg last year, so he played very well on clay last year. He’s playing right now very good also because he came from Munich, winning a tournament. I’m going to try to play very aggressive all the time, try to return his big serve. And, as you know, it’s the first time we’re going to meet on clay, so we have to see what’s happen.”

Federer: About losing his first set this week
“I don’t think I should have lost the set the way I did, getting broken after leading 30-15 and had a chance to win a point to go 40-15. But he stayed in that point, and I kind of gave him a sniff there and he took it. That was unfortunate.”

“I think I could have won the match in two sets, but for me it was just important not to be too frustrated and just in the beginning get the early break. And this is what happened.”

About meeting Ferrero
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a really tough battle. I think it’s a match-up that everybody hoped for. So I’m looking forward to it, too.”

“What can I say. He’s been playing good, I’ve been playing great. We both have confidence, so it should be a good match tomorrow. I’ll give it my best shot. I’ll try to play my game, which means mix it up and use my serve and come to the net maybe a little bit more than I did the last few matches, and hopefully I can give him a really tough match tomorrow.”

About Volandri’s game
“I saw a little bit of the match yesterday, and I saw he had a great backhand. His only weakness is the serve. I think this is no secret. He knows it himself. I think he doesn’t get a lot of free points, so he has to work very hard on each point. But he’s been moving very well, and he’s been hitting his forehand well.”

“I was ready for a tough match, but maybe not as tough as it was in the end. But I’m not surprised that it went three sets because he’s got his crowd behind him and he’s got a will to win at home. This is normal.”

Kafelnikov: “I was quite happy to have a good start, especially in the beginning of the match to be able to break him right away to let him know that, he’s gonna struggle on his own serve.”

“Today I was able to read his serve perfectly, maybe just because it was a clay court, a different game than I had couple months ago indoors when I played him in Milan.”

About winning his first Tennis Masters Series title
“It would have been nice to have at least one Masters Series event. But it’s still long way to go, two matches. But I’ll definitely try.”

About postponing his retirement
“I started to feel much healthier. That’s the main reason why I’m still here.”

“I’m physically much more stronger, that’s one thing. The other thing is I have been winning consistently a few matches in a row; that’s second. Third, you know, it’s belief. I’ve won the toughest Grand Slam of all four – the French Open. Belief is still in me. I can do it again, sure.”

“I had a very difficult period of time throughout the middle of last season. For me, it was very, very difficult to come back at least to the shape where I am right now, and I’m probably only halfway where I once was.”

Short articles from TMS Roma 2002

kat — Thu, 09 May 2002 21:20:47 +0000

Taken from the Official ATP Tour website
Extract from ATP Insider – 9 May 2002

TOURNAMENT TALES
IN ROME…Italy’s DAVIDE SANGUINETTI was a guest on the Buona Domenica show on Canale 5 with popular Italian presenter Maurizio Costanzo on Sunday afternoon. At the end of his appearance, Sanguinetti presented Costanzo with a racquet and invited him to play tennis. … MARAT SAFIN fought his way through the crowds to sign autographs at La Gazzetta dello Sport stand, where there were hundreds of fans chanting his name as they waited for him to arrive. … Players practicing at the Due Ponti Club donated items to the Tennis for Africa charity. The ‘Tennis Day Africa’ was organized to raise funds to build schools and hospitals in Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Guinea Bussau. Players taking part included DAVIDE SANGUINETTI, MOSE NAVARRA, MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS, JAMES BLAKE, FEDERICO LUZZI, HICHAM ARAZI, THOMAS JOHANSSON, ALBERT PORTAS, SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN, JUAN CARLOS FERRERO and ALBERT COSTA.

Young Guns Walk in Gladiator’s Footsteps
Roddick, Blake take Italian History 101

On the eve of the Tennis Masters Roma, American stars James Blake and Andy Roddick enjoyed a sightseeing tour of some of Romeís most famous landmarks. Followed by camera crews and photographers, Blake and Roddick visited the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and went inside the famous Coliseum. Both players were blown away by its magnitude.

“This is the coolest thing Iíve ever seen – itís definitely worth going inside,” said Roddick, with Blake adding: “Iíd seen it in the movie [Gladiator] but to see it in real life is even better.”

Earlier Sunday, top seed Lleyton Hewitt and defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero traded shots in a special tennis match outside the famous Spanish Steps.

Ferrero blasts ATP officials, alleges discrimination

kat — Thu, 09 May 2002 21:18:09 +0000

Moya supports Ferrero
Taken from cnnsi.com (CNN & Sports Illustrated)
9 May 2002

ROME (Reuters) — World No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero has blasted organizers of the Rome Masters tournament and the ruling body of men’s tennis (ATP) for discriminating against Spanish players.

“I feel that the Spanish are not being treated in the right way and it’s about time some of the Spanish players turned up and said something about the conditions of where they’re made to play,” Ferrero said on Thursday.

The Spaniard, seeded third and defending champion, was annoyed after being relegated to court six for his third-round defeat to Croatian Ivan Ljubicic on Wednesday.
“When [Carlos] Moya was number one in the world, he did not get the right treatment when he had to play,” said Ferrero. “The Spanish are not treated the right way and something should be done about it.”

Moya backed his compatriot.

“He’s Spanish, he’s a tennis player, so I agree with him and I support him until the end,” he said.

Moya said he too was assigned an outside court at Indian Wells in 1999 while at the peak of the world game.

“For the ten days that I was number one I think I deserved to play at least the first match on centre court but they didn’t give me that chance,” said Moya.

Baseliner Ferrero, the pre-tournament favorite, vented his frustration after being beaten 7-5 6-2 by Ljubicic.

The Spaniard’s defeat is also likely to hamper his preparations for the French Open, which starts on May 27.

“The condition of the court was not ideal, and I’m a little bit fed up that I had to play on that court,” he said.

“I’m number three in the world, I did not play centre court and I did not play on the pallacorda [the Foro Italico's second show court].

“[Instead] I had to play on a court where the conditions were not good.”

Ferrero said court six had been uncovered during Wednesday’s torrential rain.

“The other courts were covered but that court was not covered so it’s been receiving a lot of water all day.”

Moya said it was a “shock” to see Ferrero on a minor court.

“I think he should have played on centre court or at least on the pallacorda.

“There were some other matches yesterday which didn’t deserve to be on pallacorda or centre court. Ferrero playing out there was a shock to me,” he said.

In 2000, Spaniards Alex Corretja and Albert Costa complained about unfair treatment and both boycotted Wimbledon after they were not seeded for the grasscourt grand slam tournament, despite being ranked in the top 16 in the ATP rankings.

“I don’t know if it’s a problem against the Spanish or not. I don’t know if they like us or not,” said Moya.

Moya supports Ferrero
ROME (AP) — Spain’s Carlos Moya said Thursday that he supports countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero’s complaints toward tennis officials.

Ferrero complained after his second-round loss Wednesday at the Rome Tennis Masters Series that as the event’s defending champion he should not have had to play on an outer court.

“I am a little bit fed up that I had to play on that court,” said Ferrero, who was the No. 3 seed. “I feel that the Spanish are being treated not in the right way. When Moya was No. 1, he did not get the right treatment when he had to play. Now I’m No. 3 in the world and I did not get to play on center court.”

Moya, who held the world’s No. 1 ranking for two weeks in 1999, said Ferrero was right to complain.

“He’s the last champion and he deserves to play on a better court,” said Moya, who advanced to the quarterfinals Thursday with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist on center court.

Ferrero was beaten in straight sets Wednesday by Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic on the Foro Italico’s court 6, while American Andre Agassi was playing on center court and local favorite Andrea Gaudenzi was playing on the pallacorda, the venue’s second-biggest showcase.

“Well he’s Spanish and he’s a tennis player, so I agree with him, and I support him until the end,” Moya said. “I don’t know what they think about the Spanish players, if they like us or not. This is not my business.”

An ATP Tour spokesman denied Ferrero had been treated unfairly.

“We believe that under no circumstances the ATP or the tournament wanted to penalize him,’ the spokesman, Nicola Arzani, said. “With 16 matches going on at once, you can’t please everybody.”

Spanish players have also complained to Wimbledon officials over the past few years, saying they deserved higher seedings at the grass-court tournament.

Ferrero captures 1st career Tennis Masters Series Title in Rome

kat — Tue, 15 May 2001 13:39:02 +0000

Taken from the Official ATP Tour website
15 May 2001

No. 8 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero came from behind to beat top-seed and the world’s top clay court player Gustavo Kuerten 3-6, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, to capture his biggest career title at the Tennis Masters Series Roma.

The 3 hour, 4 minute battle might be an early championship preview of what to expect at Roland Garros next month. Kuerten came into the final with a 24-1 record on clay this season while Ferrero was 16-1. The two played in the semifinals at Roland Garros last year and the Brazilian prevailed in five sets.

The 21-year-old earned his ATP-best fourth title of the season and climbed to 2nd in the ATP Champions Race while becoming the fourth Spanish winner in Rome. He joins countrymen Manuel Orantes in 1972, Emilio Sanchez in 1991 and Alex Corretja in 1997 to capture the prestigious clay court title. The five-set final was the first in Rome since 1989 when Alberto Mancini defeated Andre Agassi.

Ferrero entered Rome off his five-set title victory over countryman Carlos Moya in Barcelona and he continued his winning ways by not losing a set en route to the final.

“Barcelona gave me a lot of confidence because I played with the Spanish players, some very strong players,” said Ferrero, who takes his career-best 11-match winning streak into Hamburg.

“And this is the first time I won a Masters Series (title), and I am really very happy about that. But I think this tournament is giving me more confidence going to Roland Garros.”

Kuerten, who was also attempting to win his fourth ATP title of the season, finished runner-up in Rome for the second straight year. He did win the title in Rome two years ago.

“It was a great week, again. I beat some great players to get to the final,” said Kuerten, who defeated Michael Chang, No. 15 seed Franco Squillari, No. 10 Alex Corretja and unseeded Andreas Vinciguerra without dropping a set. “I played well enough maybe to win. I am still in good shape and I am playing great tennis, and besides that, I am enjoying a lot of things I am doing on the court.”

During the week, defending champion Magnus Norman lost in the first round to Italian wild card Vincenzo Santopadre and another local player, 21-year-old Federico Luzzi posted impressive wins over No. 11 seed Arnaud Clement and TMS Monte Carlo finalist Hicham Arazi en route to the Round of 16. Pete Sampras made his 2001 clay court debut and lost in the first round to eventual quarterfinalist Harel Levy.