Posts Tagged ‘US Open’

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.
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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.
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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.
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