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Injured Ferrero edged out by Koubek

kat — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 04:20:37 +0000

from Reuters by Simon Cambers
3 September 2004

NEW YORK, Sept 3 (Reuters) – An injured Juan Carlos Ferrero suffered his third successive early exit from a grand slam on Friday when he was beaten 7-6 4-6 6-7 6-2 6-3 in the second round of the U.S. Open by Austria’s Stefan Koubek.

Last year’s losing finalist struggled with an adductor injury from the end of the third set and despite battling bravely, Ferrero was powerless to stop Koubek from reaching the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
Since reaching the Australian Open semi-finals in January, Ferrero has struggled with injury and illness, losing in the second round of the French Open and the third at Wimbledon.

After winning four titles last year, including his first grand slam title at the French Open, he has failed to win a tournament in 2004.

“I want to forget this year,” he said. “It’s (more) frustrating than you can imagine. I don’t think I have played one tournament this year at 100 percent fit.”

His courage, though, was not in question as he won the third set on a tiebreak, on his eighth set point.

With the injury hampering his movement, the Spaniard was treated by an ATP trainer but the move eventually proved to be futile.

Koubek, who lost to Ferrero 8-6 in the fifth set at Wimbledon earlier this year, sensed his chance and took advantage to level the match.

Ferrero was docked a point for abusive behaviour but somehow dug deep to lead 2-0 in the decider.

However, Koubek reeled off five games in a row and clinched victory with his 13th ace.

“I thought I started playing well after the first set,” Ferrero said. “But the difference today was that I had the injury and couldn’t move as well.”

Koubek upsets seventh seeded Ferrero at US Open

kat — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 04:18:47 +0000

from ChannelNewsAsia.com
3 September 2004

NEW YORK : Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, last year’s runner-up, was upset by Austria’s Stefan Koubek 7-6 (7/2), 4-6, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the 17.8 million dollar US Open.

This was the third match in the past couple of months between them, with the 27-year-old Koubek now having won two of those.

Ferrero, the 2003 Roland Garros champion, was playing in the US Open for the sixth straight year. Ferrero has been hobbled by injuries and illness after a stellar season last year.
“I was fighting a lot and I won the second and third set but then I started to feel a pain in my leg,” Ferrero said. “I couldn’t serve and move very well because of my leg.

“I am not happy with my year. This year is almost finished and I just want to forget it.

“I have some more tournaments to play but this has not been a good year for me.”

Koubek hammered 13 aces and blasted 62 winners in the four hour, two minute match.

The loss by seventh seeded Ferrero ends any chance of a rematch of the 2003 final between Ferrero and American Andy Roddick. Ferrero was in the same side of the draw as Roddick and they could have squared off in the quarters.

A disappointed Ferrero said making a good run in this year’s event was more important than avenging his loss to Roddick.

“It is disappointing that I didn’t do well here, not just that I won’t meet Roddick,” he said.

Koubek advances to play either American Jan-Michael Gambill or Sweden’s Joachim Johansson in the next round.

Ferrero falls in epic

kat — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 04:16:13 +0000

from BBC.co.uk
3 September 2004

Juan Carlos Ferrero’s miserable season continued when he was beaten in the US Open second round by Stefan Koubek.

Koubek upset the 2003 runner-up 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-3.

Ferrero, who has struggled with his fitness for most of the season, had treatment for a leg injury straight after winning the third set.

Koubek seized his chance to level the match and though Ferrero had a 2-0 lead in the decider, Koubek won five games in a row before clinching the win.
“I was fighting a lot and I won the second and third set but then I started to feel a pain in my leg,” said Ferrero.

“I couldn’t serve and move very well because of my leg.”

The 24-year-old admitted he was looking forward to the end of a torrid season, in which he has also suffered early defeats at the French Open and Wimbledon.

“I am not happy with my year. The year is almost finished and I just want to forget it,” he said.

“I have some more tournaments to play but this has not been a good year for me.”

Ferrero’s frustration was evident during the match when he was warned by the umpire for smashing a ball out of the stadium.

He was later penalized a point for abusing an official, prompting the Spaniard to refuse to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match.

Ferrero Slowed, Barely Zaps Past Zib

kat — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 04:22:12 +0000

from the official US Open website by Ranon Masliyah
31 August 2004

The match was played in Louis Armstrong Stadium, but there was nothing Louis Armstrong about it — that is, until the fourth set. Unforced errors, disputed calls and a match that lasted almost five hours nearly overshadowed what could have been the biggest upset through two days of the US Open, as No. 7 Juan Carlos Ferrero, a 2003 Open finalist, needed five dramatic sets to outlast qualifier Tomas Zib, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, in first round play Tuesday.

It was just Zib’s second overall appearance at Flushing Meadows, and his first since losing in the first round in 1999.
Ferrero was playing in his sixth straight Open, though it didn’t appear to be the case, as he hit a number of easy shots into the net throughout much of the match. Zib was not without his err, though, as he questioned the umpire about a call by placing a ball on the baseline in a quasi-lighthearted attempt at humor, much to the delight of the crowd.

The Spaniard was pushing to speedily zip past Zib, but the 28-year-old would not exit easily, as became apparent in the fourth set. Leading by a 2-1 match score and 4-1 in the fourth set, Zib capitalized on Ferrero’s inability to extinguish his unforced errors, losing four of the next five games, much to the surprise of not only himself, but the cheery Armstrong crowd. Using a deft net game, Zib never hesitated to show off his dazzling array of volleys, eventually tying the set at 6-6. When Zib smashed an overhead winner on the 11th point of the tiebreak game to force a decisive fifth set, Zib seemed to be the only person in the stadium not shocked at this improbable performance.

In fact, Zib won 70% (31 of 44) of his net approaches, while Ferrero could only convert on 58% (19 of 33). Ferrero also committed 67 unforced errors.

It was Ferrero’s strength in the fifth set that proved superior though. Leading 4-3 after Zib held serve in the seventh game, Ferrero, 24, rallied from love-30 to win the next game with a 110-plus mph serve that blazed past the now-increasingly realistic Zib. Down 5-3 and on serve, Zib looked like he might have one final crescendo creation, taking the game to deuce after opening at love-30. At match point, however, Ferrero zapped Zib for good, nailing a pretty backhand passing shot as he approached the net, winning the final set 6-3.

Ferrero will now face Stefan Koubek of Austria who beat American Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in first-round action Tuesday.

Martin Storms Back, but Falls to Ferrero in Five

kat — Fri, 05 Sep 2003 05:58:46 +0000

by Joe Checkler
4 September 2003

Nobody could blame Todd Martin and Juan Carlos Ferrero for wanting to go five sets to settle their round-of-16 match at the 2003 US Open. A sparse but later-spirited Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd helped Martin take the No. 3 seed the distance in what became a two-day match, but the Spaniard prevailed 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.
After rain postponed the first day of their match with Ferrero up 1-0 in sets, the Spaniard quickly won the second today to go up 2-0. But what followed was a calculated comeback by Martin, who won all his service games in the third and fourth set en route to forcing a fifth. But Ferrero kept his poise and finally broke Martin again to go up 4-2, and held his serve twice to win the match.

Momentum meant nothing throughout the match, first when Ferrero held the 2-0 lead after two sets and later when Martin had tied it at two-all. The two seemed destined for a fifth-set tiebreak after five games, as each breezed through service games. But when a Ferrero lob at 30-40 sailed over Martin’s head and smooched the baseline to make it 4-2, the most important game of the match had been decided.

In the third and fourth sets, Martin held his serve despite several laborious struggles. Ferrero, on the other hand, won many of his service games in less than a minute during those sets, but could not completely push the door’s button into the lock position while holding serve. Martin acted as a locksmith who didn’t require any tools but rather a little brute strength and a sprinkle of resourcefulness.

To sneak back into the match, Martin smacked a blistering forehand winner at ad out to go up 5-3, and served out the set in a five-deuce game. His serve was the key to his comeback, though, as he out-aced Ferrero by 23-12 despite making more than double the amount of unforced errors as his opponent.

For his second big break, Martin hit a backhand winner at 5-5 in the third to get it to 0-40, and when a Ferrero second serve tickled the tape and flew off to the side, the 33-year old America was up 6-5 and ready to serve out the set. He did, and the seats at Armstrong quickly became occupied with rowdy fans who wanted him to win.

But Ferrero regrouped and advanced further in the US Open than he ever has. He will now play Lleyton Hewitt.

Ferrero Wears Down Chela in Battle of Clay Courters

kat — Sun, 31 Aug 2003 06:02:48 +0000

by Neil E. Schlecht
30 August 2003

Juan Carlos Ferrero and Juan Ignacio Chela, two Spanish speakers with three names apiece and a shared predilection for red-dirt tennis, faced each other in a match that looked an awful lot like a clay-court contest. Ferrero won in straight sets after a long rain delay turned their day match into a night encounter on Armstrong Stadium, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1.

The two players moved each other around the court with similar heavy, topspin groundstrokes off both wings and occasional feathery drop shots. Unlike his compatriots, Ferrero, the No. 3 seed and current French Open champion from Spain, grew up playing on asphalt, and ultimately his shots had more weight behind them.
In the first set, Ferrero broke the Argentine’s serve with a classic clay-court play, moving Chela side-to-side by running around his backhand and hitting huge topspin forehands; he finished the point off by angling a sweet little drop shot to go up 4-3. Ferrero served for the set at 5-4, but he was broken on a sneaky Chela topspin lob that grazed the baseline. But the Spaniard broke right back and then held serve at love.

In the second set, Ferrero went up two breaks but surrendered them both, allowing Chela to equal the score at 5-5 and then broke again and finished the set 7-5. More typical of a clay court match, where the serve plays less of a role, the second set featured nine service breaks.

Chela ran out of gas in the third, and Ferrero smoked him, 6-1, but not before getting onto the highlight reel with a spectacular circus shot, a between-the-legs passing shot after running down a lob.

Ferrero, who hits a more muscular ball than his nickname “Mosquito” would indicate, is one of the few clay-court specialists with a real opportunity to go deep in the draw. He will meet the veteran American Todd Martin in the 4th Round.

Ferrero Advances to Third Round

kat — Fri, 29 Aug 2003 06:08:34 +0000

by Brad Falkner
28 August 2003

French Open Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (aka “The Mosquito”) got off to a slow start, but regrouped to advance into the third round of the 2003 US Open with a 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

For the first two sets of the match, Melzer looked like a man capable of taking the sting out of “The Mosquito.”

Melzer’s crafty all-court acumen gave Ferrero fits in the first set, when he squashed the mosquito in 27 minutes. Ferrero struggled to find a rhythm on his serve, being broken in the second and sixth games of the set.

Ferrero fell behind early in the match, but took control the rest of the way with an array of blazing groundstrokes and an effective serves.
The second set was played without a service break. In the tiebreaker, Melzer fell prone to slew of unforced errors, generously handing the tiebreaker to Ferrero 7-3.

In the third set, it was Melzer’s shots that lost their sting, allowing Ferrero ample time to rip winners off of both wings.

By the fourth set, Ferrero’s serve had become such a lethal weapon that he surrendered a mere five points on his serve in the final set.

The No. 3 seed Ferrero meets 33rd seeded Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round. Ferrero’s best US Open results came in 2000 when he advanced to the fourth round.

No. 3 Ferrero ousts qualifier Vacek

kat — Tue, 26 Aug 2003 06:12:41 +0000

25 August 2003

Despite his own inconsistency and a valiant match from his qualifier opponent, No. 3 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero overcame Jan Vacek in four sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the 2003 US Open.

A three-quarters-filled Louis Armstrong Stadium saw a surprisingly entertaining duel between Ferrero and Vacek, complete with improbable winners, and even some humor. After regaining control of the match midway through the third set, Ferrero eyed a Vacek lob, faked a smash, and tried to loft a drop shot. Instead he barely hit the net, sending the crowd into a laughing frenzy that ended with the Spaniard half-bowing to his opponent and the stadium.
The first set was all Ferrero, as he broke Vacek twice, including the set-clinching game, without losing his own serve. The still-arriving crowd was most impressed with a development during the set’s sixth game, when the umpire’s microphone finally turned on – getting more applause than anything else in the first set.

Vacek turned a possible laugher into a match by breaking to go up 2-1 in the second set. He received his break point opportunity when a possible Ferrero winner on 30-30 hit the tape and bounced high, setting up an easy forehand winner. At 30-40, Vacek closed out to earn the break.

Although Ferrero broke Vacek back to get to 3-3 in the second, Vacek broke to get to 5-4, thanks to several Ferrero errors. He closed out the set by winning the match’s most contested game, one which saw Ferrero fight off two set points before eventually succumbing to the 27-year-old Czech Republic native.

The third set saw Ferrero break to go up 3-1, and he never allowed Vacek to come close to breaking his serve. The fourth set, the shortest set of the match at 25 minutes, was more of the same as Ferrero used deep forehands and backhands to gain control of and eventually win points.

Next for Ferrero will be the winner of the Jurgen Melzer vs. Brian Baker matchup.

One to watch: Juan Carlos Ferrero

kat — Sun, 26 Aug 2001 13:42:56 +0000

Taken from the Official ATP Tour website
26 August 2001

It may not be much of a surprise to see a Spaniard among the contenders to pick up the major honors on the ATP circuit, but a Spanish victory on hard courts was a rare occurrence until recent years.

As the US Open begins on Monday, young prodigy Juan Carlos Ferrero will be hoping to become the first Spaniard to win the title since Manuel Orantes in 1975, and with four titles and a 47-13 record in 2001, he is well equipped to do so.

“I’m playing well on hard courts,” says Ferrero, who won the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year. “I like to play on hard courts, because all my life I’ve practiced on them, so I feel so good.”

The 21-year-old from Ontenienete, currently in third position in the ATP Champions Race 2001, helped his country win its first ever Davis Cup win in Barcelona last year. But he says he is more at home on the hard courts than he is on the clay of Europe.

It was no surprise that after the adulation he received in his homeland following that famous Davis Cup win in Barcelona, Ferrero would take time to settle back into his rhythm.

“Last year was a great moment in my life,” says Ferrero. “I reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and the finals in Dubai and Barcelona. It’s important for confidence. But I think the more important moment of the last year was when I won the Davis Cup with Spain.”

“I think with the match against Hewitt, there was a lot of pressure from everybody, the captain, from the Spanish people. But I played so good and I’m so happy I finished the year like I did.”

Now the Villena resident heads to the US Open determined to learn from his breakthrough year and achieve greater things in 2001. “My goal for this year is to finish the year in the ATP Champions Race Top Five and I want to play the Tennis Masters Cup,” says Ferrero. “I think it’s possible for me.”

It’s a dream that is fast becoming a reality. Ferrero’s 16-match winning streak in May brought him titles in Estoril and Tennis Masters Series Roma and took him to the final of the Tennis Masters Series Hamburg, and he then went on to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros and the third round at Wimbledon on his debut.

As he gets used to life in the fast lane, the motorbike-loving “Chavilito” or “little kid” as his fellow players call him is becoming accustomed to his newfound fame.

“After the Davis Cup, it was completely crazy,” says Ferrero. “When I walk in the street, or when I go to some restaurants, everyone says something about me. It’s difficult to understand because five months ago nobody knew who I was and now everybody wants to say hello. I think in the future I have to get used to it.”

Ferrero, seeded No. 5 at the US Open, faces Frenchman Arnaud Di Pasquale in the first round.