Pictures from JC's quarterfinal match against Guga
Pic 1: Pumped
Pic 2: Eyes on the ball
Pic 3: Return
Pic 4: Victory
FERRERO INTO SEMIS
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk
In-form Juan Carlos Fererro won the battle of the claycourt specialists as he defeated Gustavo Kuerten 6-4 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals of the Seat Godo Open in Barcelona.
Ranked number one for the tournament the Spaniard, who recently won the Master Series at Monte Carlo, outplayed Kuerten for much of the game apart from a minor blip in the second set when the Brazilian showed signs of recovery.
After a steady start where both players showed their ability from the back of the court, it was Fererro who got the crucial break in the fifth game.
Kuerten tried everything to unsettle Fererro but the Spaniard was so confident that he even overturned an out call which would have given him a 0-40 set point with the score at 5-3. As it was he went on to take the set 6-4.
Kuerten, who made history by becoming the first South American to top the ATP rankings, started the second set strongly utilising the drop shot to good effect.
He broke Fererro's serve to take a 3-1 lead with some fine winners down the line from behind the baseline.
But the seventh game of the set was to be crucial as the Brazilian, despite being advantage up at deuce lost his serve. From there he lost heart, dropped his serve again to lose the second set and the game.
Fererro admitted he had been surprised by the ease of the victory. "The match has been very fast, both of us played fast games and this was strange as normally our contests are fairly drawn out," he said.
"Kuerten tried a lot of winners while normally we have quite long rallies. Today his winners weren't going in which was unusual for him.
"I would like now to play the final with Carlos Moya and have an all Spanish match like two years ago (when Fererro won)."
Pic 1: Pumped
Pic 2: Eyes on the ball
Pic 3: Return
Pic 4: Victory
FERRERO INTO SEMIS
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk
In-form Juan Carlos Fererro won the battle of the claycourt specialists as he defeated Gustavo Kuerten 6-4 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals of the Seat Godo Open in Barcelona.
Ranked number one for the tournament the Spaniard, who recently won the Master Series at Monte Carlo, outplayed Kuerten for much of the game apart from a minor blip in the second set when the Brazilian showed signs of recovery.
After a steady start where both players showed their ability from the back of the court, it was Fererro who got the crucial break in the fifth game.
Kuerten tried everything to unsettle Fererro but the Spaniard was so confident that he even overturned an out call which would have given him a 0-40 set point with the score at 5-3. As it was he went on to take the set 6-4.
Kuerten, who made history by becoming the first South American to top the ATP rankings, started the second set strongly utilising the drop shot to good effect.
He broke Fererro's serve to take a 3-1 lead with some fine winners down the line from behind the baseline.
But the seventh game of the set was to be crucial as the Brazilian, despite being advantage up at deuce lost his serve. From there he lost heart, dropped his serve again to lose the second set and the game.
Fererro admitted he had been surprised by the ease of the victory. "The match has been very fast, both of us played fast games and this was strange as normally our contests are fairly drawn out," he said.
"Kuerten tried a lot of winners while normally we have quite long rallies. Today his winners weren't going in which was unusual for him.
"I would like now to play the final with Carlos Moya and have an all Spanish match like two years ago (when Fererro won)."