Big THANKS to Ana for translating these!! The first one is a pre-Wimbledon interview and the second is an article written after JC's first round win over Lisnard. Enjoy!
Original Article: http://es.sports.yahoo.com/030623/145/2szwk.html
June 23, 2003
Ferrero: "My goal is to leave Wimbledon with the number 1"
JOAN SOLSONA, Barcelona - Juan Carlos Ferrero hasn't come down yet from the cloud he got on in Paris after lifting the Coupe de Musketeers at Roland Garros. The player from Valencia is living the sweetest moment of his five years as a professional and wants to let his tennis loose on the grass of the All England Tennis Club which hosts Wimbledon.
It's only been two weeks since you were crowned in the French Grand Slam, how do you arrive at Wimbledon?
- I'm great, although I've only been able to practice five days because of the many commitments I've had recently. To play well on grass you have to change your clay "chip" and concentrate especially on the serve and volley. In London, a break is almost like a set in your favor and it shouldn't bother you too much to get aced because it's completely
normal.
The grass event catches you too close in date to Roland Garros?
- It's clear that I would prefer there to be more days in between to prepare for the conditions of this Grand Slam. It would be nice if the organization considered a change of dates, but the most important thing is to take well to the grass and I've always had a good feeling here.
In Wimbledon, your third consecutive appearance, the fans are expecting a lot from Ferrero. You even dared to say after winning in Paris that you were going for the English tournament. The British press put it on all their headlines.
- I said it sort of as a joke in the excitement of the moment. There are a lot of people capable of winning the trophy, but I think back to last year and the final was between two baseliners like Hewitt and Nalbandian. If an Argentinean can reach the last round, the Spanish can do it too. Wimbledon isn't just for players who serve and volley anymore.
What are your goals on grass here?
- To do better than the 3rd round of 2001 and, above all, to leave Wimbledon with the number one world ranking, which is for me the highest you can strive for as a professional. On grass you have to come wanting it and I really want to achieve a great result at the third Slam of the year.
I suppose you are keeping an eye on Andre Agassi, current top player in the circuit, and Lleyton Hewitt, who is also close to the number one ranking of the ATP this season.
- I will follow their results very closely, but I haven't had the time to do any calculations about my options of leaving London as number one. Hewitt defends his title from last year (1000 points) and that means, right now, Agassi is the main rival.
Hewitt has on the horizon the final in Cincinnati and the semifinals at the US Open. Agassi the final at the US Open. Are you aware that the number one depends on what you do in the next two months?
- I know that I have to take advantage more than ever of this summer season and get ahead since I only have two rounds at the US Open 2002. Either way, I will have to be in fine form in Kitzbuhel because I defend a final, and in Cincinnati, with the semifinal I lost to Carlos Moy?. In the next two months I have more options than ever to reach the highest in the sport of tennis.
Pete Sampras, seven times a champion at the All England Club, won't be on the British grass and the draw is more open than ever. Who are Ferrero's favorites?
- The servers have a bit of an advantage, along with the usual players, like Federer, Agassi, Roddick or Hewitt. We'll have to see how the Brit Tim Henman progresses, because I'm sure he'll want to do well for his crowd.
At the moment you appear as the number one in the Champions Race and are guaranteed classification for the Master Cup in Houston.
- It's a great satisfaction, basically because I've doubled my points from last year.
----------------------------
Original Article: http://es.sports.yahoo.com/030624/4/2t2qg.html
June 24, 2003
Tenis/Wimbledon - Ferrero: "The truth is I felt very good from the start"
The Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero made positive conclusions about his debut in Wimbledon where he achieved a comfortable victory against the Frenchman Juan René Lisnard by 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. "The truth is I felt very good on the court from the start, playing with my forehand from the baseline. I served well, with 61% on my first serve, which is very good
on grass," he said.
The tennis player from Onteniente talked about some of the keys to approaching his matches in Wimbledon. "On clay you can come back, here you play very fast and the serve is fundamental. Psychologically you have to try and stay calm," said the Valencian, who recently won his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
With respect to Hewitt's first round loss, which puts him closer to his goal of finishing the season as number one, he said: "I think Hewitt's nerves got the best of him, although his loss does benefit me. I'm sorry for him because I like him, but this is good for me."
"Here things are different. I told Martin Verkerk (his opponent in the Roland Garros Final) today that with his serve he was assured at least a tie break here, and there you saw, he lost (6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1) against the Swede Robin Soderling, a qualifier," he added.
Lastly, about the fact that he played his first match on Centre Court, he concluded: "Here they respect me a lot and they've put me on Centre Court. Actually, in the last few years I've played on Centre Court or Court One
almost always."
Original Article: http://es.sports.yahoo.com/030623/145/2szwk.html
June 23, 2003
Ferrero: "My goal is to leave Wimbledon with the number 1"
JOAN SOLSONA, Barcelona - Juan Carlos Ferrero hasn't come down yet from the cloud he got on in Paris after lifting the Coupe de Musketeers at Roland Garros. The player from Valencia is living the sweetest moment of his five years as a professional and wants to let his tennis loose on the grass of the All England Tennis Club which hosts Wimbledon.
It's only been two weeks since you were crowned in the French Grand Slam, how do you arrive at Wimbledon?
- I'm great, although I've only been able to practice five days because of the many commitments I've had recently. To play well on grass you have to change your clay "chip" and concentrate especially on the serve and volley. In London, a break is almost like a set in your favor and it shouldn't bother you too much to get aced because it's completely
normal.
The grass event catches you too close in date to Roland Garros?
- It's clear that I would prefer there to be more days in between to prepare for the conditions of this Grand Slam. It would be nice if the organization considered a change of dates, but the most important thing is to take well to the grass and I've always had a good feeling here.
In Wimbledon, your third consecutive appearance, the fans are expecting a lot from Ferrero. You even dared to say after winning in Paris that you were going for the English tournament. The British press put it on all their headlines.
- I said it sort of as a joke in the excitement of the moment. There are a lot of people capable of winning the trophy, but I think back to last year and the final was between two baseliners like Hewitt and Nalbandian. If an Argentinean can reach the last round, the Spanish can do it too. Wimbledon isn't just for players who serve and volley anymore.
What are your goals on grass here?
- To do better than the 3rd round of 2001 and, above all, to leave Wimbledon with the number one world ranking, which is for me the highest you can strive for as a professional. On grass you have to come wanting it and I really want to achieve a great result at the third Slam of the year.
I suppose you are keeping an eye on Andre Agassi, current top player in the circuit, and Lleyton Hewitt, who is also close to the number one ranking of the ATP this season.
- I will follow their results very closely, but I haven't had the time to do any calculations about my options of leaving London as number one. Hewitt defends his title from last year (1000 points) and that means, right now, Agassi is the main rival.
Hewitt has on the horizon the final in Cincinnati and the semifinals at the US Open. Agassi the final at the US Open. Are you aware that the number one depends on what you do in the next two months?
- I know that I have to take advantage more than ever of this summer season and get ahead since I only have two rounds at the US Open 2002. Either way, I will have to be in fine form in Kitzbuhel because I defend a final, and in Cincinnati, with the semifinal I lost to Carlos Moy?. In the next two months I have more options than ever to reach the highest in the sport of tennis.
Pete Sampras, seven times a champion at the All England Club, won't be on the British grass and the draw is more open than ever. Who are Ferrero's favorites?
- The servers have a bit of an advantage, along with the usual players, like Federer, Agassi, Roddick or Hewitt. We'll have to see how the Brit Tim Henman progresses, because I'm sure he'll want to do well for his crowd.
At the moment you appear as the number one in the Champions Race and are guaranteed classification for the Master Cup in Houston.
- It's a great satisfaction, basically because I've doubled my points from last year.
----------------------------
Original Article: http://es.sports.yahoo.com/030624/4/2t2qg.html
June 24, 2003
Tenis/Wimbledon - Ferrero: "The truth is I felt very good from the start"
The Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero made positive conclusions about his debut in Wimbledon where he achieved a comfortable victory against the Frenchman Juan René Lisnard by 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. "The truth is I felt very good on the court from the start, playing with my forehand from the baseline. I served well, with 61% on my first serve, which is very good
on grass," he said.
The tennis player from Onteniente talked about some of the keys to approaching his matches in Wimbledon. "On clay you can come back, here you play very fast and the serve is fundamental. Psychologically you have to try and stay calm," said the Valencian, who recently won his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
With respect to Hewitt's first round loss, which puts him closer to his goal of finishing the season as number one, he said: "I think Hewitt's nerves got the best of him, although his loss does benefit me. I'm sorry for him because I like him, but this is good for me."
"Here things are different. I told Martin Verkerk (his opponent in the Roland Garros Final) today that with his serve he was assured at least a tie break here, and there you saw, he lost (6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1) against the Swede Robin Soderling, a qualifier," he added.
Lastly, about the fact that he played his first match on Centre Court, he concluded: "Here they respect me a lot and they've put me on Centre Court. Actually, in the last few years I've played on Centre Court or Court One
almost always."
