Ferrero crowned the tennis king after Madrid title performance
Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero thrashed Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the 2.45-million-euro Madrid Masters in a performance which moved him towards dominance of the game. The 23-year-old top seed edged out to four points clear of Andy Roddick in the Champions race which leads to the eight-man Masters Cup next month in Houston.
With his 11th title, Ferrero took the first indoor trophy of his career after winning outdoors in Dubai and Hong Kong on the fast surfaces. After a dominating match, Ferrero moved out to a double-break in the third set as he closed in on victory. But Massu had an answer as he sprang a surprise break on the seed for 2-4.
Two games later, Ferrero fought through from 0-30 and reached 5-3 from back-to-back aces. He broke Massu to and after two and a half hours. It was Ferrero's third Masters title after Rome two years ago and Monte Carlo a year ago and fourth trophy of this season after the French Open, Monte Carlo and Valencia during the spring clay season.
"Instead of dedicating this trophy to my (late) mother, I dedicate it to my father, who watched me today, said the smiling winner, who claimed a cheque for 450,000 euros. "Massu had gotten lot better this year, he's beaten some quality players and is now one of the best of the world. This win feels very good."
Ferrero, the crowd darling, didn't disappoint as he swept to an easy 1-0 to hold and then broke Massu to 15 to strike an early blow with a 2-0 margin. The Spaniard, the scent of his possible race lead honours in the air, drove the Chilean challenger back and forth across the court in front of a packed-out 9,500 crowd at the Rockodromo.
After ten minutes of play, Ferrero held a commanding 3-0 lead as he finished the last game with his second ace. A subtle drop shot set up a break point in the fourth game, which Ferrero just nudged wide. The Chilean saved another break point chance in a long game to finally get on the scoreboard, 1-3.
The South American showed he'd settled his nerves, constructing a love game for 2-4. Ferrero answered for 5-2 but had to fight through a pair of break points as he served for the set. Massu's endurance paid a dividend as he got the Spaniard in trouble in the ninth game, with Ferrero getting out of jail to take the opener after 50 minutes, 6-3.
Ferrero raced away with the second set, breaking to love in the opening game and holding to love for a 3-1 lead. The Spaniard missed on two break point chances as Massu stayed alive 2-3. Massu put on pressure, with Ferrero escaping 0-30, piling on an ace on his way to 4-2. The Chilean's tortured forehand into the net gave the Spaniard three set points
Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero thrashed Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 Sunday to win the 2.45-million-euro Madrid Masters in a performance which moved him towards dominance of the game. The 23-year-old top seed edged out to four points clear of Andy Roddick in the Champions race which leads to the eight-man Masters Cup next month in Houston.
With his 11th title, Ferrero took the first indoor trophy of his career after winning outdoors in Dubai and Hong Kong on the fast surfaces. After a dominating match, Ferrero moved out to a double-break in the third set as he closed in on victory. But Massu had an answer as he sprang a surprise break on the seed for 2-4.
Two games later, Ferrero fought through from 0-30 and reached 5-3 from back-to-back aces. He broke Massu to and after two and a half hours. It was Ferrero's third Masters title after Rome two years ago and Monte Carlo a year ago and fourth trophy of this season after the French Open, Monte Carlo and Valencia during the spring clay season.
"Instead of dedicating this trophy to my (late) mother, I dedicate it to my father, who watched me today, said the smiling winner, who claimed a cheque for 450,000 euros. "Massu had gotten lot better this year, he's beaten some quality players and is now one of the best of the world. This win feels very good."
Ferrero, the crowd darling, didn't disappoint as he swept to an easy 1-0 to hold and then broke Massu to 15 to strike an early blow with a 2-0 margin. The Spaniard, the scent of his possible race lead honours in the air, drove the Chilean challenger back and forth across the court in front of a packed-out 9,500 crowd at the Rockodromo.
After ten minutes of play, Ferrero held a commanding 3-0 lead as he finished the last game with his second ace. A subtle drop shot set up a break point in the fourth game, which Ferrero just nudged wide. The Chilean saved another break point chance in a long game to finally get on the scoreboard, 1-3.
The South American showed he'd settled his nerves, constructing a love game for 2-4. Ferrero answered for 5-2 but had to fight through a pair of break points as he served for the set. Massu's endurance paid a dividend as he got the Spaniard in trouble in the ninth game, with Ferrero getting out of jail to take the opener after 50 minutes, 6-3.
Ferrero raced away with the second set, breaking to love in the opening game and holding to love for a 3-1 lead. The Spaniard missed on two break point chances as Massu stayed alive 2-3. Massu put on pressure, with Ferrero escaping 0-30, piling on an ace on his way to 4-2. The Chilean's tortured forehand into the net gave the Spaniard three set points
