Ferrero Surges Into Monte Carlo Semis, Will Meet Spadea For Spot In Final
By Richard Pagliaro
As a child, Juan Carlos Ferrero spent countless hours driving himself up the wall. Today, the top-seeded Spaniard drove deep shots that broke down the defenses of compatriot Alberto Martin in creating a crushing 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal conquest at the Tennis Masters Series Monte Carlo.
The defending champion stormed into the semifinals where he will take on American Vince Spadea. Continuing his remarkable resurgence from professional purgatory, the 28-year-old Spadea advanced to his second Tennis Masters Series semifinal of the season by scoring a 6-1, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Filippo Volandri to end the Italian qualifier's inspired tournament run.
The decisive ground attack of Ferrero produced devastating results. The 23-year-old Spaniard learned to play tennis practicing against the wall of his father's factory and today he hit with the fierce force of a player intent on breaking through bricks and reducing them to rubble with each swing of his racquet.
The 2002 French Open finalist won 10 straight games to start the match. He blew Martin away in 21 minutes to seize the first set then raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before eventually ending an encounter that was a mismatch for the most part.
The match was in marked contrast to Ferrero's previous wins — a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Felix Mantilla in the second round and a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Gaston Gaudio in the round of 16 — and Ferrero was pleased to get off to a fast start today.
"I'd had two difficult matches in the previous rounds against Felix Mantilla and Gaston Gaudio and I'm glad to have won so quickly," Ferrero said. "I won two difficult matches against Felix and Gaston, and this gave me a lot of confidence because it's the first tournament on clay and I won against some of the best players on clay. Now I have to follow the same path and try to reach the finals."
The other semifinal features second-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya against Argentine Guillermo Coria. Should Moya and Ferrero advance to the final it will set up a rematch of last year's final, which Ferrero won 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
from Tennis Week
By Richard Pagliaro
As a child, Juan Carlos Ferrero spent countless hours driving himself up the wall. Today, the top-seeded Spaniard drove deep shots that broke down the defenses of compatriot Alberto Martin in creating a crushing 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal conquest at the Tennis Masters Series Monte Carlo.
The defending champion stormed into the semifinals where he will take on American Vince Spadea. Continuing his remarkable resurgence from professional purgatory, the 28-year-old Spadea advanced to his second Tennis Masters Series semifinal of the season by scoring a 6-1, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Filippo Volandri to end the Italian qualifier's inspired tournament run.
The decisive ground attack of Ferrero produced devastating results. The 23-year-old Spaniard learned to play tennis practicing against the wall of his father's factory and today he hit with the fierce force of a player intent on breaking through bricks and reducing them to rubble with each swing of his racquet.
The 2002 French Open finalist won 10 straight games to start the match. He blew Martin away in 21 minutes to seize the first set then raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before eventually ending an encounter that was a mismatch for the most part.
The match was in marked contrast to Ferrero's previous wins — a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Felix Mantilla in the second round and a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Gaston Gaudio in the round of 16 — and Ferrero was pleased to get off to a fast start today.
"I'd had two difficult matches in the previous rounds against Felix Mantilla and Gaston Gaudio and I'm glad to have won so quickly," Ferrero said. "I won two difficult matches against Felix and Gaston, and this gave me a lot of confidence because it's the first tournament on clay and I won against some of the best players on clay. Now I have to follow the same path and try to reach the finals."
The other semifinal features second-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya against Argentine Guillermo Coria. Should Moya and Ferrero advance to the final it will set up a rematch of last year's final, which Ferrero won 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
from Tennis Week
