Ferrero Advances to Third Round
by Brad Falkner
French Open Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (aka "The Mosquito") got off to a slow start, but regrouped to advance into the third round of the 2003 US Open with a 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
For the first two sets of the match, Melzer looked like a man capable of taking the sting out of "The Mosquito."
Melzer's crafty all-court acumen gave Ferrero fits in the first set, when he squashed the mosquito in 27 minutes. Ferrero struggled to find a rhythm on his serve, being broken in the second and sixth games of the set.
Ferrero fell behind early in the match, but took control the rest of the way with an array of blazing groundstrokes and an effective serves.
The second set was played without a service break. In the tiebreaker, Melzer fell prone to slew of unforced errors, generously handing the tiebreaker to Ferrero 7-3.
In the third set, it was Melzer's shots that lost their sting, allowing Ferrero ample time to rip winners off of both wings.
By the fourth set, Ferrero's serve had become such a lethal weapon that he surrendered a mere five points on his serve in the final set.
The No. 3 seed Ferrero meets 33rd seeded Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round. Ferrero's best US Open results came in 2000 when he advanced to the fourth round.
by Brad Falkner
French Open Champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (aka "The Mosquito") got off to a slow start, but regrouped to advance into the third round of the 2003 US Open with a 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
For the first two sets of the match, Melzer looked like a man capable of taking the sting out of "The Mosquito."
Melzer's crafty all-court acumen gave Ferrero fits in the first set, when he squashed the mosquito in 27 minutes. Ferrero struggled to find a rhythm on his serve, being broken in the second and sixth games of the set.
Ferrero fell behind early in the match, but took control the rest of the way with an array of blazing groundstrokes and an effective serves.
The second set was played without a service break. In the tiebreaker, Melzer fell prone to slew of unforced errors, generously handing the tiebreaker to Ferrero 7-3.
In the third set, it was Melzer's shots that lost their sting, allowing Ferrero ample time to rip winners off of both wings.
By the fourth set, Ferrero's serve had become such a lethal weapon that he surrendered a mere five points on his serve in the final set.
The No. 3 seed Ferrero meets 33rd seeded Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round. Ferrero's best US Open results came in 2000 when he advanced to the fourth round.
