ARTICLE Roddick, Federer, Ferrero the new aces
PARIS - It was all change at the top in men's tennis in 2003 as a new generation of players took over.
American Andy Roddick (21), Roger Federer of Switzerland (22) and Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero (23) finished 1-2-3 in both the ATP Champions Race and in the ATP Entry Rankings.
[...]
For Ferrero the problem is reproducing his supreme clay-court form on other surfaces.
The Spaniard dominated the clay-court season with wins at Valencia, the Monte Carlo Masters and the French Open his first Grand Slam title where he outclassed upstart Martin Verkerk in the final.
But he had only one tournament win during the year on a non-clay surface, at home in Madrid in October although he did reach the final of the US Open.
Ferrero ended the year on a dismal note as he lost both his singles to Australia in the final of the Davis Cup in Melbourne and he admitted that physically he was suffering and needed a long break before starting his Australian Open build-up.
Roddick, Federer and Ferrero look set to dominate men's tennis over the next few years, and 2004 will tell if Hewitt and Safin can rebound to join them.
>> full article
PARIS - It was all change at the top in men's tennis in 2003 as a new generation of players took over.
American Andy Roddick (21), Roger Federer of Switzerland (22) and Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero (23) finished 1-2-3 in both the ATP Champions Race and in the ATP Entry Rankings.
[...]
For Ferrero the problem is reproducing his supreme clay-court form on other surfaces.
The Spaniard dominated the clay-court season with wins at Valencia, the Monte Carlo Masters and the French Open his first Grand Slam title where he outclassed upstart Martin Verkerk in the final.
But he had only one tournament win during the year on a non-clay surface, at home in Madrid in October although he did reach the final of the US Open.
Ferrero ended the year on a dismal note as he lost both his singles to Australia in the final of the Davis Cup in Melbourne and he admitted that physically he was suffering and needed a long break before starting his Australian Open build-up.
Roddick, Federer and Ferrero look set to dominate men's tennis over the next few years, and 2004 will tell if Hewitt and Safin can rebound to join them.
>> full article
