Dent overcomes Ferrero
American Taylor Dent thwarted top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero's attempts to claim his first indoor title by defeating the Spaniard 6-3 7-6 in the final of the Thailand Open on Sunday. It was Dent's second title of the year following his victory in Memphis in February.
"It's a great feeling," said Dent.
"It's a first for me to win two titles in a season and hopefully before the year's out there'll be another one.
"I went out there expecting a tough match and it was a lot closer than two sets. Just grinding it out and keeping a strong head won me the match."
Dent quickly got into his stride as he kept Ferrero pegged back at the baseline and snatched a 4-2 lead after putting away an overhead.
Although Ferrero had two break points when the eighth-seeded Dent was serving for the set, the Spaniard failed to convert either.
The American hit an ace on the first and Ferrero smacked a return wide on the second before smashing his racket to the ground in frustration.
BLISTERING RETURN
Visibly annoyed at his inability to penetrate the Dent serve, the French Open champion also received a warning from the umpire after he sent a lob long and was broken for 1-0 in the second.
Both players struggled to hold on to their serves and faced numerous break points in the set before Ferrero finally managed to draw level at 4-4 with a blistering return.
With both players going for broke, the set entered into a tiebreak where Dent moved ahead 5-3 after Ferrero scooped a double-handed backhand into the net.
But the American double-faulted to bring the score back to 5-5 before hitting a second serve return on his first match point to claim the $76,500 top prize.
"I didn't feel the ball the whole match because I didn't play any point more than 10 seconds. You just play one or two balls in each point and that's not very easy," said Ferrero, who was beaten in the U.S. Open final by Andy Roddick earlier this month.
"Maybe I'm a bit disappointed because I lost two finals in a short time.
"Maybe tomorrow I will feel good because I will stay number one. That was one of my goals in this tournament."
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WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Ferrero: "I'm disappointed, I've lost two finals in a short time. But when you lose finals, it at least means you are playing well to get into them. I'm sad now, but tomorrow I'll be better. At least I'll stay No. 1. That was one of my goals in this tournament."
"It was tough for me to come here and defend the No. 1. But I now have a chance to get some points in Vienna as I have none to defend. I'll train indoors next week in Spain and try to play well in Vienna."
"It was tough against Dent, especially when he is serving well. You have to take it to a tiebreaker because it's so tough to break his serve."
American Taylor Dent thwarted top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero's attempts to claim his first indoor title by defeating the Spaniard 6-3 7-6 in the final of the Thailand Open on Sunday. It was Dent's second title of the year following his victory in Memphis in February.
"It's a great feeling," said Dent.
"It's a first for me to win two titles in a season and hopefully before the year's out there'll be another one.
"I went out there expecting a tough match and it was a lot closer than two sets. Just grinding it out and keeping a strong head won me the match."
Dent quickly got into his stride as he kept Ferrero pegged back at the baseline and snatched a 4-2 lead after putting away an overhead.
Although Ferrero had two break points when the eighth-seeded Dent was serving for the set, the Spaniard failed to convert either.
The American hit an ace on the first and Ferrero smacked a return wide on the second before smashing his racket to the ground in frustration.
BLISTERING RETURN
Visibly annoyed at his inability to penetrate the Dent serve, the French Open champion also received a warning from the umpire after he sent a lob long and was broken for 1-0 in the second.
Both players struggled to hold on to their serves and faced numerous break points in the set before Ferrero finally managed to draw level at 4-4 with a blistering return.
With both players going for broke, the set entered into a tiebreak where Dent moved ahead 5-3 after Ferrero scooped a double-handed backhand into the net.
But the American double-faulted to bring the score back to 5-5 before hitting a second serve return on his first match point to claim the $76,500 top prize.
"I didn't feel the ball the whole match because I didn't play any point more than 10 seconds. You just play one or two balls in each point and that's not very easy," said Ferrero, who was beaten in the U.S. Open final by Andy Roddick earlier this month.
"Maybe I'm a bit disappointed because I lost two finals in a short time.
"Maybe tomorrow I will feel good because I will stay number one. That was one of my goals in this tournament."
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WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Ferrero: "I'm disappointed, I've lost two finals in a short time. But when you lose finals, it at least means you are playing well to get into them. I'm sad now, but tomorrow I'll be better. At least I'll stay No. 1. That was one of my goals in this tournament."
"It was tough for me to come here and defend the No. 1. But I now have a chance to get some points in Vienna as I have none to defend. I'll train indoors next week in Spain and try to play well in Vienna."
"It was tough against Dent, especially when he is serving well. You have to take it to a tiebreaker because it's so tough to break his serve."
