CHATRIER 3:00 PM Start
1. Men's Singles - Finals Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[3] vs. Martin Verkerk (NED)
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10 Things You Might Not Have Known About… Juan Carlos Ferrero
He began playing tennis at age seven with his father, Eduardo, who often travels with his son.
He has two sisters, Ana and Laura.
His nicknames are "Mosquito," due to his speed and small physique and "Chavalito," which means "little kid".
As a youngster, he admired play of former No. 1 and two-time Roland-Garros champion Jim Courier.
He likes to collect motor bikes and cars (his favorite is a Renault Spider).
He is a fan of Real Madrid soccer team.
He draws his tennis inspiration from his mother, Rosario, who passed away when he was 17.
In Oct. 2001, he opened his own tennis school, "Equalite J.C. Ferrero" in his hometown of Villena, Alicante, to promote future tennis talents between ages 14 and 21.
He is a friend of countryman and pro golfer Sergio Garcia.
His career-record on clay is 119-72 and his record at Roland-Garros is 21-3.
His Best Quotes This Tournament…
"Yeah. You know, when I sit in the chair and I see the score, two sets up, you know, I think a little bit."
- on whether he was concerned that Albert Costa may stage yet another comeback on Friday.
"I'm not really obsessed by this. This is one more match. I have to be strong in order to try to win. If I don't, well, bad luck. What can I do about it? If I don't win, well, I just don't win."
- on his third appearance in the Roland-Garros final, after losing the first two.
"I was here when I was 12 years old. I've always wanted to win here. It's one of my dreams, my ambitions. It's not an obsession as such, but it is one of my goals and one of my aspirations."
- on whether Roland-Garros is his greatest ambition.
"Yes, it is, but I have to be able to win over a giant and a very good player in order to do it."
- on whether he can win the tournament.
"And also, I wanted to win because today was -- is the happy birthday of my sister, and I want to win. So all these things are give me a lot of emotions, you know."
- after his emotional five set victory over Fernando Gonzalez.
"Well, he said he was hoping I would actually win the tournament because I was a good player and a nice person. I thanked him very much for those kind words, particularly coming from him."
- what Gonzalez said to him after their match.
"I placed myself on the baseline. I stayed there until the end."
- his tactic against Felix Mantilla.
"I'm very fit physically and mentally. I think that's the main advantage."
- the difference between the 2002 and 2003 Juan Carlos.
"You know, I feel frustrated because I lost the set against grass court specialist. No, I'm kidding (smiling)."
- how he felt after losing the first set to Tim Henman.
"No. I'm going to prepare just as I've done before. The fact is that I feel good, I'm doing all right. But I was placed on Court 2, which doesn't really mean that I'm looked at as if I were the favorite."
- on whether he enjoys the fact that the press think he's the favorite this year.
"Don't make me feel badly (smiling). I don't really know. I expected to win more and to suffer a bit more in order to win it."
- on whether he has a bad conscience about winning so much money in just three quarters of an hour (opponent Nicolas Massu retired).
"Well, I saw one of those people who foretell the future, and he said this time around it will be my turn (smiling). I hope this will be the case."
- on whether he expected to be in the finals this year.
1. Men's Singles - Finals Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[3] vs. Martin Verkerk (NED)
-----------------------------------------------------
10 Things You Might Not Have Known About… Juan Carlos Ferrero
He began playing tennis at age seven with his father, Eduardo, who often travels with his son.
He has two sisters, Ana and Laura.
His nicknames are "Mosquito," due to his speed and small physique and "Chavalito," which means "little kid".
As a youngster, he admired play of former No. 1 and two-time Roland-Garros champion Jim Courier.
He likes to collect motor bikes and cars (his favorite is a Renault Spider).
He is a fan of Real Madrid soccer team.
He draws his tennis inspiration from his mother, Rosario, who passed away when he was 17.
In Oct. 2001, he opened his own tennis school, "Equalite J.C. Ferrero" in his hometown of Villena, Alicante, to promote future tennis talents between ages 14 and 21.
He is a friend of countryman and pro golfer Sergio Garcia.
His career-record on clay is 119-72 and his record at Roland-Garros is 21-3.
His Best Quotes This Tournament…
"Yeah. You know, when I sit in the chair and I see the score, two sets up, you know, I think a little bit."
- on whether he was concerned that Albert Costa may stage yet another comeback on Friday.
"I'm not really obsessed by this. This is one more match. I have to be strong in order to try to win. If I don't, well, bad luck. What can I do about it? If I don't win, well, I just don't win."
- on his third appearance in the Roland-Garros final, after losing the first two.
"I was here when I was 12 years old. I've always wanted to win here. It's one of my dreams, my ambitions. It's not an obsession as such, but it is one of my goals and one of my aspirations."
- on whether Roland-Garros is his greatest ambition.
"Yes, it is, but I have to be able to win over a giant and a very good player in order to do it."
- on whether he can win the tournament.
"And also, I wanted to win because today was -- is the happy birthday of my sister, and I want to win. So all these things are give me a lot of emotions, you know."
- after his emotional five set victory over Fernando Gonzalez.
"Well, he said he was hoping I would actually win the tournament because I was a good player and a nice person. I thanked him very much for those kind words, particularly coming from him."
- what Gonzalez said to him after their match.
"I placed myself on the baseline. I stayed there until the end."
- his tactic against Felix Mantilla.
"I'm very fit physically and mentally. I think that's the main advantage."
- the difference between the 2002 and 2003 Juan Carlos.
"You know, I feel frustrated because I lost the set against grass court specialist. No, I'm kidding (smiling)."
- how he felt after losing the first set to Tim Henman.
"No. I'm going to prepare just as I've done before. The fact is that I feel good, I'm doing all right. But I was placed on Court 2, which doesn't really mean that I'm looked at as if I were the favorite."
- on whether he enjoys the fact that the press think he's the favorite this year.
"Don't make me feel badly (smiling). I don't really know. I expected to win more and to suffer a bit more in order to win it."
- on whether he has a bad conscience about winning so much money in just three quarters of an hour (opponent Nicolas Massu retired).
"Well, I saw one of those people who foretell the future, and he said this time around it will be my turn (smiling). I hope this will be the case."
- on whether he expected to be in the finals this year.
