Original article: Ferrero, wants more from ESPN Deportes
Sunday, June 8, 2003
After winning Roland Garros, the Spaniard assured that he hopes it will be the first of many Grand Slams he will win
PARIS (EFE) -- Juan Carlos Ferrero doesn't want his win in Roland Garros to be a one time story, but the first of many Grand Slams he hopes to win in his career. He also wants to be number one in the world.
"Now that I've won here I'm thinking about other Grand Slams, I'm thinking of Wimbledon, the US and Australian Open. I've won this one and I want to win a different one, although now I will concentrate more on winning one on hard court," said the tennis player.
Ferrero reiterated that one of the top priorities in his career is to be number one in the world, a goal that is closer than ever.
"I'm going to try and be one of the best tennis players in the world, by winning lots of tournaments and becoming number one. I won't stop working until I achieve it," he said.
The player indicated that in his search for the number one, the Australian Lleyton Hewitt will be his main rival. "Now he has all the pressure, because he has points to defend in Wimbledon," where he won last year.
The Spaniard said that this win in Roland Garros means that he has taken "that small jump" that in other occasions had separated him from the victory in other important finals, like Paris last year or the Masters in Shanghai where he lost to Hewitt.
"Even though I didn't win those tournaments, my coach and I thought I was a great player. Because I lost to Hewitt by just two games I didn't think I was worse a player than him," commented the tennis player.
Ferrero dedicated his win to "all the people who have believed" in him and he had a special thought for his mother, who passed away when he was 16 years old. "She was up there watching the match from the first row," he said.
"When I won I don't know what I felt, a lot of emotions, joy for myself and the people around me. I thought a little about them and also in myself. It's been special because it is the first time. In that moment I thought: 'I have it now, and it'll never slip away,'" he said.
As soon as the match was over, the player jumped into the stands towards the box where his family and coach were. Later back on the court, he made a special dedication to his friend Sete Gibernau, whose name he wrote on the television camera where the winners of the matches usually sign.
"He had a flyer where he wrote 'Vamos Juan Carlos' and I returned the favor like that," said Ferrero, who confessed that always when he can he watches the Catalan driver's races.
With respect to today's match, Ferrero assures he played "with a lot of confidence" and he said that the key was that he returned "very well."
"Physically and mentally I was in perfect condition. His best weapon is his serve and I returned very well and didn't drop my rhythm during the whole match. I think it's been very hard for him," he said
"Last year I played a bad final and this year, before the match, I thought back and told myself that I had to give the maximum. I think I came out with that focus and started well. I did everything very well and it was a perfect final," he commented.
Ferrero, who last year fell in the final and the previous two in the semifinals, said he never had doubts that he could win this tournament one day. "Now I think that I will win it again," he said.
------------------------
Original article: Ferrero, the King of Paris from ESPN Deportes
Sunday, June 8, 2003
[...]
A killer forehand from the baseline put an end to the match and also the fear and insecurities of Ferrero after his defeat in the Masters of Shanghai against Hewitt, and on various occasions in Paris. Now he's promised to play with more calmness and to aspire for more.
Yannick Noah, winner 20 years ago, just accepted on Saturday to present the trophy, because of a problem with the organization that denied him a special invitation to participate.
"I congratulate Martin for his special tournament and Juan Carlos for his first Grand Slam. I hope you do better than me, and that you don't stop here," said Noah very seriously beside the President of the French Federation, Christian Bimes, with whom me maintains a not so cordial relationship.
"I think it was the dream of my whole life, and now that it's a reality it still hasn't sunk in. Since I was 12 years old and I came here for the first time, I've always wanted to finish with a victory in the last match. Now I've won the title and I will play more calmly next year," said Ferrero.
After winning the last point, the Spaniard threw his racket and kneeled in the dirt. Then he lifted his two index fingers to the sky in memory of his mother Rosario, who passed away when he was 16. His thoughts were for her when he had the trophy in his arms, "I dedicate it to you too, up there."
"I've played two incredible weeks, but today was the most special day of my life. This has been the tournament I've wanted to win and now I have it in my pocket. I dedicate it to all the people that love me and support me. I hope it doesn't stop with this title and that I win many more and that I can dedicate them to you all," added the Valencian who jumped up into the stands to hug his coach, Antonio Martinez Cascales, his sisters Laura and Ana, his father Eduardo, and to then kiss his girlfriend Patricia Bonilla.
[...]
Nobody had won the Paris final in 3 sets since the also Spanish Carlos Moyá defeated his countryman Alex Corretja in 3 sets in 1998.
For this victory Ferrero wins a check for 840,000 euros and 200 points for the Champions Race. Tomorrow Monday he will appear as number one. He was a junior finalist of the tournament in 1998. With his victory today he becomes the first since the Austrian Thomas Muster (1995) to win the tournament.
----------------------------
Original article: Ferrero conquers Paris from Antena 3 Noticias
June 9, 2003
Hitting a switch on the wall with the ball. That is how Ferrero started playing tennis. He was seven years old and he was trying to hit a switch on the wall of the garage of his house. Since then there have been many successes and disappointments from a very shy, hard working and polite person. A young man of 23 years who every time he wins a title looks up at the heavens because that is where his mother is. To her he dedicates all his wins.
That blow at 16 years old made him think about leaving it all, but the support of his father, two sisters and his coach stopped him. Despite appearing just five years ago at a reception at the Spanish Embassy in Paris, in the shadow of Arantxa [Sanchez Vicario], Moyà and Corretja with a less formal look, everyone already knew he'd become the successor of Santana. He didn't take long to live up to the expectations. The next year he won his first tournament in Mallorca and Corretja said then a star had been born. A star that he hugged and paraded on his shoulders in Barcelona when he helped win the Davis Cup for Spain.... Although he continued with one goal in his head- Ferrero admitted yesterday that since he was 12 years old, when he first played in Paris, it was his dream to become the champion in Paris.
A chance that Costa took from him last year and Kuerten twice before. But his tenacity and mental strength helped him achieve it, virtues that along with discretion and humility have allowed him to deal with an uncomfortable fame. His tastes haven't changed and he's still in love with speed, video games, football and the dogs from his school in Villena. The only thing that's different is his account (about 7 and a half million euros) and his popularity. Juanqui is not only on informal terms with the King, but in his town, Onteniente, he's the only neighbor with the golden medal. The "mosquito" still has a lot more to bite.
-----------------------
Original article: Ontinyent fills its plaza to honor Ferrero from Antena 3 Noticias
June 10, 2003
The truth is seeing what happened in Ontinyent, we ask ourselves who enjoyed it more, Ferrero or the neighbors that came to the Plaza Mayor. Men and women, children and elders, everyone wanted to be with the favorite son of a town, which Ferrero is making famous....
The most famous neighbor of Ontinyent didn't deserve any less. He was welcomed with honors, part president- part superstar, in a plaza where screaming kids were waiting for him. The neighbors wouldn't stop cheering on their idol by singing along with "We are the Champions." Everyone wanted to say something to him.
[...]
The one who made a new promise was Juan Carlos' father who after shaving his head threatens with stronger emotions. "Maybe bungee jumping or sky diving," if he wins another Grand Slam. It was a very special day for the whole family. Especially one of his sisters who wanted to show off the trophy so much that some neighbors may have seen it a little too close. Something they wouldn't mind if he comes back soon with a new trophy.
--------------------
Original article: AS.com
Ferrero: "I want to be dominant in the circuit"
To do so he'll have to do better than Agassi and Hewitt in Wimbledon
Happy exhaustion. The tennis player from Ontinyent hasn't stopped since he won Roland Garros.
[...] The tennis player assured that his desire is "to be dominant in all the circuit, not just clay. I also play well on hard court and I'd like win someday the Australian or the US Open." With his victory in the Parisian tournament, the Champions Race number one shut the mouths of those that saw him as incapable of winning a Grand Slam and considered him a looser: "I've proved that they were wrong about me."
[...]
-----------------------------
Original article: A new car for the parking lot from El Mundo Deportivo
June 9, 2003
"Convince Antonio to let me buy an Aston Martin Vanquish." Juan Carlos needs to bend- it's a matter of hours- his coaches will to satisfy the whim of a champion, another car for his collection. It's not an issue of money, especially after getting the check for 840,000 euros, but Martinez Cascales wants to first free up some space in the parking. "He has a Mitsubishi, a Mercedes, a Renault Spider and a Porsche. He's just signed with Mazda and they're giving him an RX8. He can buy the Aston Martin, but first he needs to get rid of one of the ones he already has, because there are too many." Cars are the Valencian's passion, a fan of the speed.
[...]
Yesterday Ferrero was ready for everything. A smile filled his face, and jokes flowed in his responses [during the press conference]. "I don't know anything about that. I saw three women in yellow and I grabbed the first one I could." His sisters, Ana and Laura, and two friends were were matching in white pants, yellow tops and red headbands. In the box there were congratulations from everyone: Eduardo, his father, who immortalized the trophy presentation on a video camera; Antonio Martínez Cascales; Miguel Maeso, the physical trainer; Víctor Muñoz, the physiotherapist; David Serrahima. But there was a different kiss for one of the women, a brown haired girl by the name of Patricia Bonilla.
The group was ready for a "longer night than usual," said Cascales, who promised to go through with shaving his head. Ferrero didn't get in on the game. "I won't do anymore experiments with my hair."
[...]
-----------------------
Original article: In the name of his mother from El Mundo Deportivo
June 9, 2003
The first thought is always for her, the driving force in his life. Juan Carlos Ferrero's look merges with the sky, in a meeting with Rosario Donat, the mother he lost at 16 years old. At the time he was frustrated, by the cruelty of a cancer that his family had hidden from him until it was no longer possible, so much that he considered putting away the racket. The love of his father, Eduardo, and his sisters, Ana and Laura, multiplied itself to help soften the blow. He decided to continue with what he liked most, to honor his mother, a feeling he only makes public for very important matches.
A child that came about because his father insisted on expanding the family and wanted to have a son.... In the basement of the house, Eduardo and little Juan Carlos enjoyed themselves by hitting balls at the wall. The boy developed precision by hitting a switch.
"He had a natural gift, he was born with special forehand hit," says Eduardo. Juan Carlos signed up at the tennis school in his hometown Ontinyent and then the one in Gandia. The youngest champion of the Communidad Valenciana, the federation offered him the option of continuing his development at a school located 40 km from home, in Villena (Alicante).
One night in October of 1991, Juan Carlos Ferrero met at that club Antonio Martinez Cascales, his coach since then. His coach remembers that he "had to stop the match when Juan Carlos was winning 5-1. I didn't want it to affect the boy, one of the best in the school, against whom he was playing."
There weren't professional doubts, but personal ones. The boy had a "serious" personality, extremely introverted. Months later, after a trip to the lake, a long conversation produced a union between the two. The loyalty of the tennis player has been unfazed over the years. He refused various offers; he didn't want to go to the academy of the American Nick Bollettieri, or the Spanish Federation Center in Sant Cugat. Firm, he didn't speak to Cascales for days, after he encouraged him to go to Barcelona, fearing that his career would be halted by the lack of rivals at his level in Villena.
Currently Ferrero and Cascales are partners in the Academy Equelite Juan Carlos Ferrero of Villena. The two took on this year the venture of starting an ATP tournament in Valencia, whose director is Miguel Maeso, the tennis player's physical trainer.
Junior finalist of Roland Garros in 1998 (he lost to Fernando Gonzalez), he signed a contract with the multinational agency IMG. He finished that season as 345 in the world ranking. Two months later he was already number 43 in the ATP and had a title to his name, the Palma de Mallorca. He defeated Alex Corretja, who said "today a star is born." He confirmed this in the Davis Cup 2000, where he played the winning point for Spain's victory against Australia. The "mosquito" or "chavalito," nicknames he now tosses aside, also learned the other side of things, with losses in Roland Garros and the Masters last year.
With the coveted Roland Garros on his list, his next dream is to be number one in the world. Tennis is everything. He lives in Villena along with the rest of the players at the academy. His only privilege is that he doesn't have to share a room. There he plays with his dogs, Lasca and Roca, and he takes advantage of his free time by quenching his thirst for gasoline. He loves cars and motorcycles- one of his best friends is Sete Gibernau- and adventure sports. Although his real passion is his family. One of his loved ones was his grandfather who lived in the house in Ontinyent. "At 72 years old he only drank wine and was still climbing tree," comments Juan Carlos amused, character and form by and for Rosario Donat.
Sunday, June 8, 2003
After winning Roland Garros, the Spaniard assured that he hopes it will be the first of many Grand Slams he will win
PARIS (EFE) -- Juan Carlos Ferrero doesn't want his win in Roland Garros to be a one time story, but the first of many Grand Slams he hopes to win in his career. He also wants to be number one in the world.
"Now that I've won here I'm thinking about other Grand Slams, I'm thinking of Wimbledon, the US and Australian Open. I've won this one and I want to win a different one, although now I will concentrate more on winning one on hard court," said the tennis player.
Ferrero reiterated that one of the top priorities in his career is to be number one in the world, a goal that is closer than ever.
"I'm going to try and be one of the best tennis players in the world, by winning lots of tournaments and becoming number one. I won't stop working until I achieve it," he said.
The player indicated that in his search for the number one, the Australian Lleyton Hewitt will be his main rival. "Now he has all the pressure, because he has points to defend in Wimbledon," where he won last year.
The Spaniard said that this win in Roland Garros means that he has taken "that small jump" that in other occasions had separated him from the victory in other important finals, like Paris last year or the Masters in Shanghai where he lost to Hewitt.
"Even though I didn't win those tournaments, my coach and I thought I was a great player. Because I lost to Hewitt by just two games I didn't think I was worse a player than him," commented the tennis player.
Ferrero dedicated his win to "all the people who have believed" in him and he had a special thought for his mother, who passed away when he was 16 years old. "She was up there watching the match from the first row," he said.
"When I won I don't know what I felt, a lot of emotions, joy for myself and the people around me. I thought a little about them and also in myself. It's been special because it is the first time. In that moment I thought: 'I have it now, and it'll never slip away,'" he said.
As soon as the match was over, the player jumped into the stands towards the box where his family and coach were. Later back on the court, he made a special dedication to his friend Sete Gibernau, whose name he wrote on the television camera where the winners of the matches usually sign.
"He had a flyer where he wrote 'Vamos Juan Carlos' and I returned the favor like that," said Ferrero, who confessed that always when he can he watches the Catalan driver's races.
With respect to today's match, Ferrero assures he played "with a lot of confidence" and he said that the key was that he returned "very well."
"Physically and mentally I was in perfect condition. His best weapon is his serve and I returned very well and didn't drop my rhythm during the whole match. I think it's been very hard for him," he said
"Last year I played a bad final and this year, before the match, I thought back and told myself that I had to give the maximum. I think I came out with that focus and started well. I did everything very well and it was a perfect final," he commented.
Ferrero, who last year fell in the final and the previous two in the semifinals, said he never had doubts that he could win this tournament one day. "Now I think that I will win it again," he said.
------------------------
Original article: Ferrero, the King of Paris from ESPN Deportes
Sunday, June 8, 2003
[...]
A killer forehand from the baseline put an end to the match and also the fear and insecurities of Ferrero after his defeat in the Masters of Shanghai against Hewitt, and on various occasions in Paris. Now he's promised to play with more calmness and to aspire for more.
Yannick Noah, winner 20 years ago, just accepted on Saturday to present the trophy, because of a problem with the organization that denied him a special invitation to participate.
"I congratulate Martin for his special tournament and Juan Carlos for his first Grand Slam. I hope you do better than me, and that you don't stop here," said Noah very seriously beside the President of the French Federation, Christian Bimes, with whom me maintains a not so cordial relationship.
"I think it was the dream of my whole life, and now that it's a reality it still hasn't sunk in. Since I was 12 years old and I came here for the first time, I've always wanted to finish with a victory in the last match. Now I've won the title and I will play more calmly next year," said Ferrero.
After winning the last point, the Spaniard threw his racket and kneeled in the dirt. Then he lifted his two index fingers to the sky in memory of his mother Rosario, who passed away when he was 16. His thoughts were for her when he had the trophy in his arms, "I dedicate it to you too, up there."
"I've played two incredible weeks, but today was the most special day of my life. This has been the tournament I've wanted to win and now I have it in my pocket. I dedicate it to all the people that love me and support me. I hope it doesn't stop with this title and that I win many more and that I can dedicate them to you all," added the Valencian who jumped up into the stands to hug his coach, Antonio Martinez Cascales, his sisters Laura and Ana, his father Eduardo, and to then kiss his girlfriend Patricia Bonilla.
[...]
Nobody had won the Paris final in 3 sets since the also Spanish Carlos Moyá defeated his countryman Alex Corretja in 3 sets in 1998.
For this victory Ferrero wins a check for 840,000 euros and 200 points for the Champions Race. Tomorrow Monday he will appear as number one. He was a junior finalist of the tournament in 1998. With his victory today he becomes the first since the Austrian Thomas Muster (1995) to win the tournament.
----------------------------
Original article: Ferrero conquers Paris from Antena 3 Noticias
June 9, 2003
Hitting a switch on the wall with the ball. That is how Ferrero started playing tennis. He was seven years old and he was trying to hit a switch on the wall of the garage of his house. Since then there have been many successes and disappointments from a very shy, hard working and polite person. A young man of 23 years who every time he wins a title looks up at the heavens because that is where his mother is. To her he dedicates all his wins.
That blow at 16 years old made him think about leaving it all, but the support of his father, two sisters and his coach stopped him. Despite appearing just five years ago at a reception at the Spanish Embassy in Paris, in the shadow of Arantxa [Sanchez Vicario], Moyà and Corretja with a less formal look, everyone already knew he'd become the successor of Santana. He didn't take long to live up to the expectations. The next year he won his first tournament in Mallorca and Corretja said then a star had been born. A star that he hugged and paraded on his shoulders in Barcelona when he helped win the Davis Cup for Spain.... Although he continued with one goal in his head- Ferrero admitted yesterday that since he was 12 years old, when he first played in Paris, it was his dream to become the champion in Paris.
A chance that Costa took from him last year and Kuerten twice before. But his tenacity and mental strength helped him achieve it, virtues that along with discretion and humility have allowed him to deal with an uncomfortable fame. His tastes haven't changed and he's still in love with speed, video games, football and the dogs from his school in Villena. The only thing that's different is his account (about 7 and a half million euros) and his popularity. Juanqui is not only on informal terms with the King, but in his town, Onteniente, he's the only neighbor with the golden medal. The "mosquito" still has a lot more to bite.
-----------------------
Original article: Ontinyent fills its plaza to honor Ferrero from Antena 3 Noticias
June 10, 2003
The truth is seeing what happened in Ontinyent, we ask ourselves who enjoyed it more, Ferrero or the neighbors that came to the Plaza Mayor. Men and women, children and elders, everyone wanted to be with the favorite son of a town, which Ferrero is making famous....
The most famous neighbor of Ontinyent didn't deserve any less. He was welcomed with honors, part president- part superstar, in a plaza where screaming kids were waiting for him. The neighbors wouldn't stop cheering on their idol by singing along with "We are the Champions." Everyone wanted to say something to him.
[...]
The one who made a new promise was Juan Carlos' father who after shaving his head threatens with stronger emotions. "Maybe bungee jumping or sky diving," if he wins another Grand Slam. It was a very special day for the whole family. Especially one of his sisters who wanted to show off the trophy so much that some neighbors may have seen it a little too close. Something they wouldn't mind if he comes back soon with a new trophy.
--------------------
Original article: AS.com
Ferrero: "I want to be dominant in the circuit"
To do so he'll have to do better than Agassi and Hewitt in Wimbledon
Happy exhaustion. The tennis player from Ontinyent hasn't stopped since he won Roland Garros.
[...] The tennis player assured that his desire is "to be dominant in all the circuit, not just clay. I also play well on hard court and I'd like win someday the Australian or the US Open." With his victory in the Parisian tournament, the Champions Race number one shut the mouths of those that saw him as incapable of winning a Grand Slam and considered him a looser: "I've proved that they were wrong about me."
[...]
-----------------------------
Original article: A new car for the parking lot from El Mundo Deportivo
June 9, 2003
"Convince Antonio to let me buy an Aston Martin Vanquish." Juan Carlos needs to bend- it's a matter of hours- his coaches will to satisfy the whim of a champion, another car for his collection. It's not an issue of money, especially after getting the check for 840,000 euros, but Martinez Cascales wants to first free up some space in the parking. "He has a Mitsubishi, a Mercedes, a Renault Spider and a Porsche. He's just signed with Mazda and they're giving him an RX8. He can buy the Aston Martin, but first he needs to get rid of one of the ones he already has, because there are too many." Cars are the Valencian's passion, a fan of the speed.
[...]
Yesterday Ferrero was ready for everything. A smile filled his face, and jokes flowed in his responses [during the press conference]. "I don't know anything about that. I saw three women in yellow and I grabbed the first one I could." His sisters, Ana and Laura, and two friends were were matching in white pants, yellow tops and red headbands. In the box there were congratulations from everyone: Eduardo, his father, who immortalized the trophy presentation on a video camera; Antonio Martínez Cascales; Miguel Maeso, the physical trainer; Víctor Muñoz, the physiotherapist; David Serrahima. But there was a different kiss for one of the women, a brown haired girl by the name of Patricia Bonilla.
The group was ready for a "longer night than usual," said Cascales, who promised to go through with shaving his head. Ferrero didn't get in on the game. "I won't do anymore experiments with my hair."
[...]
-----------------------
Original article: In the name of his mother from El Mundo Deportivo
June 9, 2003
The first thought is always for her, the driving force in his life. Juan Carlos Ferrero's look merges with the sky, in a meeting with Rosario Donat, the mother he lost at 16 years old. At the time he was frustrated, by the cruelty of a cancer that his family had hidden from him until it was no longer possible, so much that he considered putting away the racket. The love of his father, Eduardo, and his sisters, Ana and Laura, multiplied itself to help soften the blow. He decided to continue with what he liked most, to honor his mother, a feeling he only makes public for very important matches.
A child that came about because his father insisted on expanding the family and wanted to have a son.... In the basement of the house, Eduardo and little Juan Carlos enjoyed themselves by hitting balls at the wall. The boy developed precision by hitting a switch.
"He had a natural gift, he was born with special forehand hit," says Eduardo. Juan Carlos signed up at the tennis school in his hometown Ontinyent and then the one in Gandia. The youngest champion of the Communidad Valenciana, the federation offered him the option of continuing his development at a school located 40 km from home, in Villena (Alicante).
One night in October of 1991, Juan Carlos Ferrero met at that club Antonio Martinez Cascales, his coach since then. His coach remembers that he "had to stop the match when Juan Carlos was winning 5-1. I didn't want it to affect the boy, one of the best in the school, against whom he was playing."
There weren't professional doubts, but personal ones. The boy had a "serious" personality, extremely introverted. Months later, after a trip to the lake, a long conversation produced a union between the two. The loyalty of the tennis player has been unfazed over the years. He refused various offers; he didn't want to go to the academy of the American Nick Bollettieri, or the Spanish Federation Center in Sant Cugat. Firm, he didn't speak to Cascales for days, after he encouraged him to go to Barcelona, fearing that his career would be halted by the lack of rivals at his level in Villena.
Currently Ferrero and Cascales are partners in the Academy Equelite Juan Carlos Ferrero of Villena. The two took on this year the venture of starting an ATP tournament in Valencia, whose director is Miguel Maeso, the tennis player's physical trainer.
Junior finalist of Roland Garros in 1998 (he lost to Fernando Gonzalez), he signed a contract with the multinational agency IMG. He finished that season as 345 in the world ranking. Two months later he was already number 43 in the ATP and had a title to his name, the Palma de Mallorca. He defeated Alex Corretja, who said "today a star is born." He confirmed this in the Davis Cup 2000, where he played the winning point for Spain's victory against Australia. The "mosquito" or "chavalito," nicknames he now tosses aside, also learned the other side of things, with losses in Roland Garros and the Masters last year.
With the coveted Roland Garros on his list, his next dream is to be number one in the world. Tennis is everything. He lives in Villena along with the rest of the players at the academy. His only privilege is that he doesn't have to share a room. There he plays with his dogs, Lasca and Roca, and he takes advantage of his free time by quenching his thirst for gasoline. He loves cars and motorcycles- one of his best friends is Sete Gibernau- and adventure sports. Although his real passion is his family. One of his loved ones was his grandfather who lived in the house in Ontinyent. "At 72 years old he only drank wine and was still climbing tree," comments Juan Carlos amused, character and form by and for Rosario Donat.
