ARTICLE Rested Ferrero shrugs off late arrival
Spanish No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero joined his Davis Cup teammates for practice in Melbourne yesterday and declared himself ready for a last big effort after a gruelling season.
Ferrero, who flew in on Saturday, was the last of the Spaniards to arrive ahead of the final at Melbourne Park starting on Friday, when he will carry the hopes of Spain against Australia.
For the Spanish underdogs, their spearhead's draining schedule is almost as much of a concern as his ability to adapt to grass in less than a week.
The 23-year-old baseliner has already racked up 86 matches this year. Only world No.1 Andy Roddick (91), Roger Federer (95) and German ironman Rainer Schuettler (101) played more.
Ferrero's hectic program seemed to take its toll at this month's Masters Cup in Houston, where he lost all three of his matches. He was the only player in the eight-man field not to win a match.
Yesterday, he took to the Kooyong grasscourts for his first hitout on the surface since Wimbledon in July. A solid two-hour session enabled the claycourt specialist to shake off the lethargy from his long flight from Los Angeles.
He shrugged off suggestions that he was either tired or that his late arrival would hinder the Spaniards' chances of beating Australia.
"I feel great. I take some rest after Houston because the year is so long, but we are very much ready to play," Ferrero said.
"I think practising one week is enough to be ready for two matches. Practising six days on grass, I will feel very good.
"We have a big fight against the Australian guys because they want to win because we won in that final in 2000."
Ferrero worked hard on getting to the net to sharpen up his rarely employed serve-and-volley game.
The French Open champion does have solid form on surfaces other than clay. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon this year before losing to Sebastien Grosjean in four sets, and made the United States Open final on hardcourt.
But playing Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis on their more-favoured grass will be a new experience.
"I've never played against any Australian on grass - it's the first time," Ferrero said. "Hewitt is a specialist on grass, and Philippoussis as well. But the final is the final and we are ready and motivated to play."
Both teams are scheduled to have their first hitouts today on the temporary grasscourt at Melbourne Park.
ARTICLE Ferrero in doubt for Open
ALREADY a target for a vengeful Australian Davis Cup team, Juan Carlos Ferrero is also in the sights of Australian Open chief executive Paul McNamee.
The French Open champion has hinted his participation in next week's final against Australia at Rod Laver Arena means he could miss the Open, which starts on January 19.
But McNamee hopes to persuade the former world No. 1 to consider returning to Melbourne for the first grand slam of the season.
"The only one I've been worried about is Juan Carlos Ferrero on the men's side because he's said that he's tending to the negative side because of the Davis Cup final," McNamee said.
"So I'm hoping to catch up with him when he's here and ask him. He's the highest-profile player I'm concerned about."
Certain to have another full complement of stars for the Open, McNamee said it was inevitable a small number of players would have end-of-season surgery, which might lead to them bypassing the event.
But the slightly later starting date of the tournament meant there was a longer recovery period.
Ferrero, who foiled Australian hopes of successive cup triumphs in Barcelona three years ago, does not want to make the journey from Spain twice in two months.
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