ARTICLE Look Out For Juan Carlos the Third
Juan Carlos Ferrero is going for his third consecutive Monte Carlo Masters and he has to be a big favourite to achieve the feat.
Ferrero's year has been disrupted by a bout of chicken pox and he has not been able to play much tennis. But he is now entering his favourite time of year - the clay season - feeling fresh.
And the former world number one has the added advantage of having already played competitive tennis on clay, for Spain in the Davis Cup. Spain beat the Netherlands 4-1 and Ferrero won two rubbers, one of which was a five set encounter with Martin Verkerk, last year's French Open runner-up.
It is a very difficult transition to come form the hard courts straight onto clay and the only preparation some of his competitors will have had is on indoor courts, whereas Ferrero is already back in the swing of things.
Clay is a very different surface to play on, which is why adapting is so hard. You can't have any weaknesses at the back of the court, yet the serve is not so important. A lot of clay court players - particularly the South Americans - just put the ball in on their first serve, although Ferrero is not one of those.
Good movement around the court is the other factor in playing a good clay game. You need to be able to slide, be balanced to make your shot and be mobile to get straight back up for the next shot.
I don't think Ferrero will have things all his own way in Monte Carlo, though. There are a handful of players that could challenge him, including Guillermo Coria who has been having a fantastic season.
[...]
Come the end of the year, Ferrero will be competing with Roger Federer and Andy Roddick for the world number one ranking, but I'm not sure whether either of them will be challenging him here.
[...]
>> full article
Thanks Samantha for sending me this article. Hopefully JC can put Valencia behind him and fight for that third Monte Carlo title. Oh and must mention... that is NOT a new picture of JC. It's from AO this year ^^
Juan Carlos Ferrero is going for his third consecutive Monte Carlo Masters and he has to be a big favourite to achieve the feat.
Ferrero's year has been disrupted by a bout of chicken pox and he has not been able to play much tennis. But he is now entering his favourite time of year - the clay season - feeling fresh.
And the former world number one has the added advantage of having already played competitive tennis on clay, for Spain in the Davis Cup. Spain beat the Netherlands 4-1 and Ferrero won two rubbers, one of which was a five set encounter with Martin Verkerk, last year's French Open runner-up.
It is a very difficult transition to come form the hard courts straight onto clay and the only preparation some of his competitors will have had is on indoor courts, whereas Ferrero is already back in the swing of things.
Clay is a very different surface to play on, which is why adapting is so hard. You can't have any weaknesses at the back of the court, yet the serve is not so important. A lot of clay court players - particularly the South Americans - just put the ball in on their first serve, although Ferrero is not one of those.
Good movement around the court is the other factor in playing a good clay game. You need to be able to slide, be balanced to make your shot and be mobile to get straight back up for the next shot.
I don't think Ferrero will have things all his own way in Monte Carlo, though. There are a handful of players that could challenge him, including Guillermo Coria who has been having a fantastic season.
[...]
Come the end of the year, Ferrero will be competing with Roger Federer and Andy Roddick for the world number one ranking, but I'm not sure whether either of them will be challenging him here.
[...]
>> full article
Thanks Samantha for sending me this article. Hopefully JC can put Valencia behind him and fight for that third Monte Carlo title. Oh and must mention... that is NOT a new picture of JC. It's from AO this year ^^
