Ferrero Gunning for No.1
Juan Carlos Ferrero today begins his quest to snatch back the world No. 1 ranking from Andy Roddick as the Tennis Masters Cup singles competition commences. The Spaniard, who trails the American by just 26 ATP Champions Race points, will test himself in an opening match against David Nalbandian.
The meeting will be hugely important for Ferrero's Argentine challenger, who is battling a left wrist tendonitis which forced his withdrawal from the Basel final three weeks ago and from the final tournament of the regular season – the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Nalbandian has kept his current condition a closely guarded secret, but the 2002 Wimbledon finalist has been working over the past few days on the practice court. Nalbandian may be bolstered by confidence from a victory the only previous time he and Ferrero have played - he won on clay in the second round at Estoril in 2002.
With Ferrero needing to make up ground on Roddick, who doesn't begin play until Tuesday, every contest in the Blue group is critical. But the Spaniard, who still faces more tennis this season with a Davis Cup final, is not prepared to stress over his possibilities. "I cannot be obsessed with No. 1, " said Ferrero, who lost the top ranking to Roddick in Paris before the newly-crowned American was beaten by eventual tournament champion Tim Henman. "Everyone has lost No. 1 at one stage in their careers. It's difficult to keep on top forever."
In the night session, ageless Andre Agassi takes to the court for the first time since losing a US Open semifinal to Ferrero. Agassi plays fellow 2003 Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Most of the pressure is likely to be on Switzerland's Wimbledon champion, who has not beaten the 33-year-old Agassi in three tries, including their most recent meeting in the NASDAQ-100 Open final in Miami in 2002.
Federer is battling long odds in what is theoretically a three-way race for the year-end top ranking. But the 22-year-old, who missed a chance to stake his claim for the year-end No. 1 when he fell to Henman in the Paris quarterfinals, has left his hopes in the hands of Ferrero and Roddick.
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Juan Carlos as a cowboy?! Ehhh...
Juan Carlos Ferrero today begins his quest to snatch back the world No. 1 ranking from Andy Roddick as the Tennis Masters Cup singles competition commences. The Spaniard, who trails the American by just 26 ATP Champions Race points, will test himself in an opening match against David Nalbandian.
The meeting will be hugely important for Ferrero's Argentine challenger, who is battling a left wrist tendonitis which forced his withdrawal from the Basel final three weeks ago and from the final tournament of the regular season – the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
Nalbandian has kept his current condition a closely guarded secret, but the 2002 Wimbledon finalist has been working over the past few days on the practice court. Nalbandian may be bolstered by confidence from a victory the only previous time he and Ferrero have played - he won on clay in the second round at Estoril in 2002.
With Ferrero needing to make up ground on Roddick, who doesn't begin play until Tuesday, every contest in the Blue group is critical. But the Spaniard, who still faces more tennis this season with a Davis Cup final, is not prepared to stress over his possibilities. "I cannot be obsessed with No. 1, " said Ferrero, who lost the top ranking to Roddick in Paris before the newly-crowned American was beaten by eventual tournament champion Tim Henman. "Everyone has lost No. 1 at one stage in their careers. It's difficult to keep on top forever."
In the night session, ageless Andre Agassi takes to the court for the first time since losing a US Open semifinal to Ferrero. Agassi plays fellow 2003 Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
Most of the pressure is likely to be on Switzerland's Wimbledon champion, who has not beaten the 33-year-old Agassi in three tries, including their most recent meeting in the NASDAQ-100 Open final in Miami in 2002.
Federer is battling long odds in what is theoretically a three-way race for the year-end top ranking. But the 22-year-old, who missed a chance to stake his claim for the year-end No. 1 when he fell to Henman in the Paris quarterfinals, has left his hopes in the hands of Ferrero and Roddick.
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Juan Carlos as a cowboy?! Ehhh...
