Many thanks to Samantha for sending in another wonderful article!
This one is from a Spanish newspaper and talks about JC's goals for 2004 and a little about how he's going to schedule his tournaments next year.
ARTICLE To Return to the Top
Ferrero has loaded the batteries successfully to confront a season in which he sets out to recover the tennis throne and to capture gold in the Athens Olympic Games.
To remain at the top of the game two years in a row is difficult, but this is the challenge that Juan Carlos faces in 2004. The Valencian tennis player was the best Spanish sportsman last season and now when faced with the task of surpassing his previous performances realizes that it gets higher and higher with each year. December 2, 2003, in Melbourne, Ferrero ended a long season in which in which he finished number 3 of the world, claimed four titles (Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, Valencia and Madrid) and was a finalist in the US Open and the Davis Cup. A month later, January 12, 2004, in Sydney, the Valencian returns to begin another strenuous season.
THE DREAM
To return to #1 and to win a medal
"We want to give another shot at the top," jokes Ferrero's coach Antonio Martinez Cascales when explaining the 2004 objectives of his student. And in that return there stands two fundamental objectives in the head of Ferrero.
"I want to return to #1 and to win a medal in the Olympic Games," says the tennis player who will spend two weeks of intense training at his academy in Villena. Ferrero is slightly familiar with leading the rankings from his eight week reign last year and even though he knows the difficulty of this type of challenge he wants to repeat it and "if possible" to finish the year in that position. Last season he could have obtained it, but he arrived at the Masters without hardly any "gasoline" and the American Andy Roddick and the Swiss Roger Federer surpassed him in a sprint to the final. But while the fight for #1 forces Ferrero not to lower his guard during the entire eleven months of competition, his dream to claim a medal in Athens --"possibly the gold," he says -- however will depend only on his form in August.
"I would like to win the medal because I believe that at twenty-four this is the best moment to try for it," admits the tennis player who made his debut in the 2000 Olympic in Sydney.
THE PREPARATION
Centered on the big tournaments
The scheduling for the season is light so that Ferrero can reach his goals and with that intention the planning has been centered on the major tournaments.
"This year will be very complicated and difficult. Juan Carlos has to defend a lot of points and must give priority to that, although the medal does drive him," Cascales evaluates. With this in mind choosing the moments of rest will be vital.
"Last year he arrived at the final stretch with accumulated fatigue and pressure to end the year #1 which took its toll on him during the Masters and the Davis Dup," explains his trainer. In order to avoid the repetition of that situation Ferrero has centered his calendar on preparing for the larger tournaments such as the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open, the Olympic Games and the Davis Cup.
"At the end of the season I suffered and it cost to me, playing poorly in both the Masters and the final of the Davis Cup against Australia," Ferrero realizes.
"We are going to take out matches and be very selective of the ones we are going to enter though we'll lose money," says Cascales who will split Ferrero's season into two parts. "The first part will go until Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the second part from the Olympic Games to the end". If the first part of the year goes well and he has enough points, Ferrero will rest 20 days after Wimbledon. Otherwise, he could resign in Wimbledon and discard one of Masters Series tournaments (either Cincinnati or Canada) that is scheduled before the US Open.
--> original article in Spanish (you need to register)
This one is from a Spanish newspaper and talks about JC's goals for 2004 and a little about how he's going to schedule his tournaments next year.
ARTICLE To Return to the Top
Ferrero has loaded the batteries successfully to confront a season in which he sets out to recover the tennis throne and to capture gold in the Athens Olympic Games.
To remain at the top of the game two years in a row is difficult, but this is the challenge that Juan Carlos faces in 2004. The Valencian tennis player was the best Spanish sportsman last season and now when faced with the task of surpassing his previous performances realizes that it gets higher and higher with each year. December 2, 2003, in Melbourne, Ferrero ended a long season in which in which he finished number 3 of the world, claimed four titles (Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, Valencia and Madrid) and was a finalist in the US Open and the Davis Cup. A month later, January 12, 2004, in Sydney, the Valencian returns to begin another strenuous season.
THE DREAM
To return to #1 and to win a medal
"We want to give another shot at the top," jokes Ferrero's coach Antonio Martinez Cascales when explaining the 2004 objectives of his student. And in that return there stands two fundamental objectives in the head of Ferrero.
"I want to return to #1 and to win a medal in the Olympic Games," says the tennis player who will spend two weeks of intense training at his academy in Villena. Ferrero is slightly familiar with leading the rankings from his eight week reign last year and even though he knows the difficulty of this type of challenge he wants to repeat it and "if possible" to finish the year in that position. Last season he could have obtained it, but he arrived at the Masters without hardly any "gasoline" and the American Andy Roddick and the Swiss Roger Federer surpassed him in a sprint to the final. But while the fight for #1 forces Ferrero not to lower his guard during the entire eleven months of competition, his dream to claim a medal in Athens --"possibly the gold," he says -- however will depend only on his form in August.
"I would like to win the medal because I believe that at twenty-four this is the best moment to try for it," admits the tennis player who made his debut in the 2000 Olympic in Sydney.
THE PREPARATION
Centered on the big tournaments
The scheduling for the season is light so that Ferrero can reach his goals and with that intention the planning has been centered on the major tournaments.
"This year will be very complicated and difficult. Juan Carlos has to defend a lot of points and must give priority to that, although the medal does drive him," Cascales evaluates. With this in mind choosing the moments of rest will be vital.
"Last year he arrived at the final stretch with accumulated fatigue and pressure to end the year #1 which took its toll on him during the Masters and the Davis Dup," explains his trainer. In order to avoid the repetition of that situation Ferrero has centered his calendar on preparing for the larger tournaments such as the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open, the Olympic Games and the Davis Cup.
"At the end of the season I suffered and it cost to me, playing poorly in both the Masters and the final of the Davis Cup against Australia," Ferrero realizes.
"We are going to take out matches and be very selective of the ones we are going to enter though we'll lose money," says Cascales who will split Ferrero's season into two parts. "The first part will go until Roland Garros and Wimbledon and the second part from the Olympic Games to the end". If the first part of the year goes well and he has enough points, Ferrero will rest 20 days after Wimbledon. Otherwise, he could resign in Wimbledon and discard one of Masters Series tournaments (either Cincinnati or Canada) that is scheduled before the US Open.
--> original article in Spanish (you need to register)
OLYMPICS 2004 It's confirmed. JC has announced that he will compete in the 2004 Olmypics.
CHANGE OF RACQUET So did anyone notice that JC has a new racquet? It was actually a couple months ago when Prince released their new "Experimental" racquets for JC, Coria and Capriati to use during the USO.
2003 Grand Slams Review: Date With Destiny