ARTICLE For Ferrero, not as easy as it seemed
The scoreboard might suggest Spanish star Juan Carlos Ferrero had a regulation straight-sets victory over Filippo Volandri yesterday. What it does not tell you is that Ferrero needed medical attention twice, lost his serve four times and admitted to having had a crisis of confidence in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
Ferrero won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 in little more than two hours but at times was outplayed by the young Italian, who passed the French Open champion regularly. Volandri has powerful groundstrokes, his backhand can be extraordinary, his forehand a little wild, but luckily for Ferrero, he found it difficult to play his shots consistently.
While Volandri was in a battle with his own groundstrokes, Ferrero was waging his own war with his body and his confidence. The 23-year-old showed his usual precision from the back of the court, but it seemed his biggest threat for a spot in the third round was himself.
After the fifth game of the first set, with games still on serve, Ferrero called for the trainer to treat a muscle spasm in his back. He had a similar injury last December while practising at home. It did not slow him down but later in the third set, while lunging for a volley, he fell heavily, breaking the fall with his left arm and causing it to hyper-extend.
From that point, it caused Ferrero trouble with his ball toss while serving and once the match was over, he went straight to the medical rooms and was given anti-inflammatory tablets by the doctor.
"Everything is OK . . . I don't feel pain now," he said after the match. But the No. 3 seed is taking no risks. He plans to practise at 11am today as normal, but should there be any discomfort, he will stop immediately and give himself the day off before playing Swede Joachim Johansson in the third round.
Ferrero considered not coming to Melbourne for the Open. After Australia beat Spain in last year's Davis Cup final, he had only 12 days off before the start of the new season. His preparation has not been good and a shock loss to local teenager Chris Guccione in Sydney further hampered things.
He said it would "not be normal" to allow one loss at the start of a season to ruin his confidence but he did hit the practice courts and is happy with his form there. "I am still working well and just trying to find a way to play well here."
The scoreboard might suggest Spanish star Juan Carlos Ferrero had a regulation straight-sets victory over Filippo Volandri yesterday. What it does not tell you is that Ferrero needed medical attention twice, lost his serve four times and admitted to having had a crisis of confidence in the lead-up to the Australian Open.
Ferrero won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 in little more than two hours but at times was outplayed by the young Italian, who passed the French Open champion regularly. Volandri has powerful groundstrokes, his backhand can be extraordinary, his forehand a little wild, but luckily for Ferrero, he found it difficult to play his shots consistently.
While Volandri was in a battle with his own groundstrokes, Ferrero was waging his own war with his body and his confidence. The 23-year-old showed his usual precision from the back of the court, but it seemed his biggest threat for a spot in the third round was himself.
After the fifth game of the first set, with games still on serve, Ferrero called for the trainer to treat a muscle spasm in his back. He had a similar injury last December while practising at home. It did not slow him down but later in the third set, while lunging for a volley, he fell heavily, breaking the fall with his left arm and causing it to hyper-extend.
From that point, it caused Ferrero trouble with his ball toss while serving and once the match was over, he went straight to the medical rooms and was given anti-inflammatory tablets by the doctor.
"Everything is OK . . . I don't feel pain now," he said after the match. But the No. 3 seed is taking no risks. He plans to practise at 11am today as normal, but should there be any discomfort, he will stop immediately and give himself the day off before playing Swede Joachim Johansson in the third round.
Ferrero considered not coming to Melbourne for the Open. After Australia beat Spain in last year's Davis Cup final, he had only 12 days off before the start of the new season. His preparation has not been good and a shock loss to local teenager Chris Guccione in Sydney further hampered things.
He said it would "not be normal" to allow one loss at the start of a season to ruin his confidence but he did hit the practice courts and is happy with his form there. "I am still working well and just trying to find a way to play well here."
