WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
ATP Tennis
Ferrero: "It was a well fought match. There were many breaks of serve and some long exchanges. I was able to put some big serves in and, to be honest, I was playing well. I have now reached at least the semifinals for three consecutive weeks and all I can think about is the title."
"Mentally, I am feeling very strong. Maybe there are patches when the level of my tennis drops, but my game is there."
On his next opponent:
"Gaudio is always a tough competitor. He was on the verge of beating me in Monte-Carlo. As for Saretta, I have only seen him practicing. He hits the ball hard."
Calleri: "I knew it was going to be difficult. Ferrero is the best player in the world right now on clay. I felt I played well from the baseline. If I would have made more first serves, the outcome could have been different. Off my second serve, he was attacking me and taking the initiative. If Ferrero maintains his current form, he should definitely win the tournament."
"From here, I am going to Rome. I will be playing with a lot of confidence and I expect to get very far. It depends largely on the draw. I could meet a Ferrero in the first round or two."
Saretta on playing Ferrero: "Today I beat Gaudio, a better player than me, and Ferrero is even superior, but I will be playing with great confidence from today's match. I have nothing to lose and everything to win."
SATURDAY MATCHES
The question at this week's CAM Open Comunidad Valenciana is simple: Can Juan Carlos Ferrero be stopped?
The Spaniard appears to be in an invincible groove heading into the semifinals against unseeded Brazilian Flavio Saretta, who admits he has nothing to lose in Saturday's match. Not only has Ferrero not dropped a set this week. But he's now reached the semifinals at three back-to-back clay events, winning the Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo, then getting to the semifinals at Barcelona, where he lost to Marat Safin. Meanwhile, Saretta's best ATP result this year was a run to the quarterfinals in Delray Beach (l to Gambill). He also won two Challenger events this year in Bermuda and Sao Paulo.
This is the first meeting for the two players.
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Ferrero advances to Valencia semis
VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) -- Juan Carlos Ferrero clinched a place in the Valencia Open semifinals with a gritty 6-3 6-4 victory over Agustin Calleri on Friday.
Ferrero, born just outside Valencia and the top seed at his home tournament, took a 2-0 lead at the start of the match only for the Argentine fifth seed to break back immediately.
Calleri lost his serve again in game six to fall 2-4 behind and this time there was no way back, as Ferrero served out for the set.
The two players exchanged breaks again early in the second set before Calleri was broken in game seven.
Ferrero consolidated with a love service game for a 5-3 lead and completed victory to book a semi-final against either Gaston Gaudio, another Argentine clay-court specialist, or Brazil's Flavio Saretta.
"You could see that either one of us could have won that game," Ferrero said after his victory over Calleri. "He came back very well after the breaks at the start of each set.
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Picture from JC's 2nd rd. match against Portas
ATP Tennis
Ferrero: "It was a well fought match. There were many breaks of serve and some long exchanges. I was able to put some big serves in and, to be honest, I was playing well. I have now reached at least the semifinals for three consecutive weeks and all I can think about is the title."
"Mentally, I am feeling very strong. Maybe there are patches when the level of my tennis drops, but my game is there."
On his next opponent:
"Gaudio is always a tough competitor. He was on the verge of beating me in Monte-Carlo. As for Saretta, I have only seen him practicing. He hits the ball hard."
Calleri: "I knew it was going to be difficult. Ferrero is the best player in the world right now on clay. I felt I played well from the baseline. If I would have made more first serves, the outcome could have been different. Off my second serve, he was attacking me and taking the initiative. If Ferrero maintains his current form, he should definitely win the tournament."
"From here, I am going to Rome. I will be playing with a lot of confidence and I expect to get very far. It depends largely on the draw. I could meet a Ferrero in the first round or two."
Saretta on playing Ferrero: "Today I beat Gaudio, a better player than me, and Ferrero is even superior, but I will be playing with great confidence from today's match. I have nothing to lose and everything to win."
SATURDAY MATCHES
The question at this week's CAM Open Comunidad Valenciana is simple: Can Juan Carlos Ferrero be stopped?
The Spaniard appears to be in an invincible groove heading into the semifinals against unseeded Brazilian Flavio Saretta, who admits he has nothing to lose in Saturday's match. Not only has Ferrero not dropped a set this week. But he's now reached the semifinals at three back-to-back clay events, winning the Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo, then getting to the semifinals at Barcelona, where he lost to Marat Safin. Meanwhile, Saretta's best ATP result this year was a run to the quarterfinals in Delray Beach (l to Gambill). He also won two Challenger events this year in Bermuda and Sao Paulo.
This is the first meeting for the two players.
-----------------------------------------------
Ferrero advances to Valencia semis
VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) -- Juan Carlos Ferrero clinched a place in the Valencia Open semifinals with a gritty 6-3 6-4 victory over Agustin Calleri on Friday.
Ferrero, born just outside Valencia and the top seed at his home tournament, took a 2-0 lead at the start of the match only for the Argentine fifth seed to break back immediately.
Calleri lost his serve again in game six to fall 2-4 behind and this time there was no way back, as Ferrero served out for the set.
The two players exchanged breaks again early in the second set before Calleri was broken in game seven.
Ferrero consolidated with a love service game for a 5-3 lead and completed victory to book a semi-final against either Gaston Gaudio, another Argentine clay-court specialist, or Brazil's Flavio Saretta.
"You could see that either one of us could have won that game," Ferrero said after his victory over Calleri. "He came back very well after the breaks at the start of each set.
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Picture from JC's 2nd rd. match against Portas
