NEWS Yesterday JC took part in a publicity event in the Vanderbilt corridor of Grand Central station. The event was promoted by Tennis magazine and included such tennis legends as Chris Evert,Tracy Austin and Roy Emerson. He also said that he's confident in his ability to recover his form from last year.

>> full article (in Spanish)

Posted by nana at 7:19 PM

UPDATE JC's first round opponent will be Tomas Zib (CZE). They played once before in 1999 with Zib winning in two sets!!

>> head to head

Posted by nana at 11:18 AM

ARTICLE US Open 2004: Previewing the Men

[...]

Juan Carlos Ferrero – “The Mosquito” proved all those silly critics who claimed he was merely a clay court specialist wrong last season. OK, fine, I was one.

After having very little Grand Slam success anywhere but the French Open, Ferrero finally reversed his fortunes on the hard courts and reached the final at last year's US Open. He played the tournament of his life, too, defeating No. 33 Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round, Todd Martin in the fourth round, No. 6 Hewitt in the quarterfinals and top-seeded Agassi in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, this year has been a tough one so far for Ferrero. Most of his problems have come off-the-court, starting at the very beginning of the season when he came down with chicken pox, and then later when various physical injuries hindered him, possibly from trying to come back too soon. Either way, he hasn't been on the court very much, and when he does play he hasn't been on his game. But he claims he is fully recovered now, and last year's run cannot be ignored.

>> full article


---
According to his last interview, JC should be in NY now preparing for the Open ^^

Posted by nana at 4:44 AM

US OPEN DRAW The draw is out! JC is seeded 7th and faces a qualifier in the first round. Some notable players in his quarter: Gambill, Schuettler, Safin, Enqvist and he's slated to meet Roddick in the quarterfinals.

>> full draw

Posted by nana at 4:10 AM

INTERVIEW ATHENS, 17 August - Interview with JUAN CARLOS FERRERO (ESP)

M. FISH/J.C. Ferrero
4-6, 7-6, 6-4


THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. It's a slow road back, isn't it? You've had the illness and injury problems earlier in this year. Did you lose confidence or what?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No. A little bit, is difficult to come back and win easy, you know. You know, I think I'm playing good. I'm trying to get back the confidence. I think the last matches that I lose in Cincinnati and here, I play really good. I lost 6-4 in the third both matches, so maybe I needed some lucky to win the match. But I didn't have in both matches. But anyways, I think if I'm keep going in this way, you know, I can win a lot of matches in maybe US Open.

Q. Why do you think you couldn't finish it at 5-4 in the second?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I don't know. You know, I don't know what's happen with these two double-faults. I was feeling good, you know. I was serving good. I was with confidence. It wasn't nerves, you know. You know, I had the sand out there, you know. That was difficult to serve. You know, I did these two double-faults, and the match start to be difficult because I lose the concert. The break was pretty early in the third. You know, the third set was pretty difficult.

Q. What are you not doing now that you were doing this time last year?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I don't know. It's very difficult to say. Maybe last year I was with a lot of confidence and maybe these small things at 5-4 I did well and I finish the match maybe last year.

Q. Do you see a gap, you're not sure if you're going to make the shot?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No, no, nothing of this, you know. I try to make the same way as before. I'm the same guy as last year, you know, but with less matches in the whole year, and maybe some more problems in the whole year. But anyway, I'm the same guy. Try to do the same.

Q. How do you rate Mardy's game?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Mardy, I think he play very good in the first set. He did a lot of winners on the line, you know, and he served pretty good in the last game with 15?40. He played very good points with a difficult moment, with the present moment, the tiebreak, 5-4. You know, anyway, I think if I was playing pretty good, I could win the match 6-4, 6-4.

Q. You said you're playing well. Looking forward towards The Open, do you feel pretty good?

JAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah. I don't feel pretty good right now. But I think I'm in a good way. I'm practicing well. I played two good matches, the last two good matches. I'm trying to keep in this line, you know, try to have more luck in the next games.

Q. What are the priorities now? Davis Cup?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No. Come back to Spain, then go through to US Open the next Thursday, and then I have Beijing, Davis Cup and Shanghai.

Posted by nana at 7:19 AM

MORE PHOTOS

pic close up
pic: backhand
pic: return
pic: another backhand
pic: forehand
pic: shocked

Posted by nana at 5:50 AM

ARTICLE Fish Stuns Ferrero in Athens; Safin Out
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer

ATHENS, Greece - Mardy Fish was down and out Tuesday, three points from defeat against former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. And then, with some help, Fish turned things around for the biggest victory of his career, a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 comeback against the fifth-seeded Spaniard to reach the third round of the Olympics.

Ferrero, the French Open champion and U.S. Open runner-up last year, double-faulted twice while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. That gave the 22nd-ranked Fish an opening, and he took control.

"In a normal tournament, I would have tried just as hard, but there's definitely something extra there," said Fish, who came to Greece on a three-match losing streak.

"I kept saying to myself: 'This is the Olympics. This is the Olympics. I can't really go out like this, in two straight sets.'"

[...]

Fish can't claim too many big wins over top players yet. His previous career highlight was knocking off 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya in the Australian Open's second round last year.

"That's something that's holding me back ... beating these guys consistently. The guys in the top 10, they play the other guys in the top 10 very well," said Fish, up next against Max Mirnyi of Belarus. He called his victory over Ferrero "definitely a confidence-booster going into the U.S. Open," which starts Aug. 30.

Ferrero appeared to be in complete control, up a set and a break. But serving for the match at 5-4, he double-faulted twice. When a 15-stroke exchange ended with Ferrero's backhand catching the net tape and dribbling back on his side, Fish was suddenly still in it at 5-5.

"I should have had an easy, 6-4, 6-4 win, and I made it tough on myself," Ferrero said. "I had the wind against me, and the sun in my eyes. I had to toss the ball a bit differently, and that led to the double-faults."

Fish ended the tiebreaker with a crisp backhand volley, then grabbed a 2-1 edge in the last set. He got to break point with a running backhand passing winner, and converted when Ferrero dumped a forehand into the net.

There was one last tough spot for the American.

Serving for the match, he made three errors to hand Ferrero three break points at 15-40. But Fish regrouped to close it out with three aces and a service winner.

He wheeled and smacked a ball underhand out of the stadium, as the opening notes of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" blared over center court's speakers.

"I just tried to stay aggressive," Fish said. "That's the way I play well."

Posted by nana at 12:37 AM

ARTICLE Men's Round-up, Day Three Day Session: Fish Nets Biggest Catch of his Career

The road back from injury is proving a tough one for Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ten months ago he was world No. 1, French Open champion and US Open runner-up, but a run of injuries has dented his confidence, and he has now crashed out of the Olympic tennis tournament in the second round.

Ferrero's 46 76 64 exit at the hands of American Mardy Fish is particularly frustrating as he led 64 53 and served for the match at 5-4 in the second set. But once Fish had broken to 30 to level at 5-5, the match began to turn. Fish won the tiebreak 7-5 on his third set point, and a break in the third game of the final set proved the vital advantage to see the American to a two-hour 38-minute victory.

"The Olympic factor had a lot to do with it," said Fish of the support he received from his American teammates. "There was definitely something extra there. I kept saying to myself: this is the Olympics, this is the Olympics, I can't go out in two straight sets. I've had other big wins, but this is the Olympics, so it's the biggest one."

Ferrero was at a loss to explain why he couldn't finish the job having led 5-3 in the second set. "I don't know what was happening with the two double faults I served. I was feeling good, I was serving good, I had confidence - it wasn't nerves. Maybe there are small things that I was doing well last year, and last year I would have won the match."

Fish's win continues a remarkable run for the Americans, who have yet to lose in nine singles matches. Taylor Dent was the other US winner on the third morning session, recovering from a bad start to beat Dominik Hrbaty 76 64.

Despite Ferrero's defeat, Spain have a representative in the third round, after Feliciano Lopez beat Marat Safin 76 63. The other two Spaniards in the second round, Tommy Robredo and Carlos Moya, play on Tuesday night.

Posted by nana at 11:24 PM

PHOTOS From JC's second round match against Mardy Fish



pic: return
pic: disappointment
pic: checking strings

Posted by nana at 11:12 PM

Order of Play Tuesday 17 August

Centre Court

Day session - Starting at 10:00
(1) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) v Maria Vento-Kabchi (VEN)
(5) Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v Mardy Fish (USA)

Posted by nana at 5:43 AM

PHOTOS More from JC's 1st round match



pic: waving
pic: waving (in color)
pic: JC interview

Posted by nana at 8:23 AM

COMMENTS ATHENS, 15 August - Comments from Juan Carlos FERRERO (ESP) after defeating Hicham ARAZI (MAR) 6-3, 6-1.


On the match:

"It was an easy match, especially after the first set. He is also used to the heat, so I don’t think it influenced him. The air made the conditions a bit more difficult. The balls are smaller and bounce faster than normally so it’s more difficult to control them. In general however, it was a good match and it has given me confidence to continue."


On winning a medal:

"It would be a big present for me, especially since I haven’t had good results this year. It would give me great joy."


On the Opening Ceremony:

"It was a bit tiring but nice to meet all the other Spanish athletes, and the entrance in the stadium was emotional."

Posted by nana at 11:17 PM

PHOTOS



pic: forehand
pic: serve
pic: close-up
pic: backhand
pic: bouncing ball
**pic: celebrating
**pic: return
**pic: ball toss
**pic: another backhand


RESULTS Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Hicham Arazi (Morocco) 6-3 6-1. He'll play the winner of Fish vs. Bjorkman in the 2nd round ^^

Posted by nana at 9:29 PM

ORDER OF PLAY Sunday 15 August

Court 1

Day session - Starting at 10:00
(8) Ai Sugiyama (JPN) v Jie Zheng (CHN)
(5) Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v Hicham Arazi (MAR)

>> full schedule


JC's playing at the same time as Roddick... =(


PHOTO



pic: Moya, JC and Feli marching in the parade

Posted by nana at 3:51 AM

VIDEO A nice clip of JC in the airport (with Pat) departing for Athens and a short interview at the end (in Spanish)

>> video



-Transcript-
Ferrero was very deluded with his second participation in the Olympic Games and noted that he was in good form, although injuries this year have not allowed him to compete at his top level. The young tennis player of Onteniente already knows that he will have to surpass to a very complicated rival in the first round, the left-handed Moroccan Hicham Arazi.


Translated with the help of Babelfish (again). Sorry there's no transcript of JC's interview but at the end he's saying how the Olympics are only every 4 years so this experience is quite special. ^^

Posted by nana at 4:43 PM

ARTICLE FERRERO: "ALL THE RIVALS ARE IMPORTANT"

"The only thing that I need is to recover my form and to win some matches"

The tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has started off for Athens, has assured that all the rivals which he will face in the Olympic Games "are important," and has affirmed that, although physically he is "very well," the motivation "influences much".

Moments before embarking in the airport of Barajas in a flight to the Greek capital, the Valencian tennis player commented: "For some months I've rested enough (recovered) and the only thing I need has been to recover my form and to win some matches".

Ferrero, who on Sunday the 15th will dispute his first match, has insisted that it is very important to be motivated in Athens, and remembers his experience in the Olympic Games of Sydney 2000 where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Frenchman Arnaud di Pasquale: "In theory he was a rival to whom I should have won."

Also he says that until end of year, his challenge will be, in addition to the Games of Athens, to try to reach the final of the Davis Cup again.

from as.com (translated with the help of Babelfish)


Good to hear JC back in the competitive spirit. Vamos!! ^^

Posted by nana at 5:13 AM

PHOTOS More pictures of JC posing with kids in his academy.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Posted by nana at 5:00 AM

PHOTO From marca.com for the Athens 2004 Olympics tennis event.

Posted by nana at 3:17 PM

UPDATE The Chinese team of Hubei sponsored by Dong Feng Car continues training in the Academy Equelite-Juan Carlos Ferrero for but a month and the level of Chinese team is very high. Every day there is observed the great technical, tactical and physical improvements that they are acquiring. Yesterday they had the chance of being next to their idol, Juan Carlos Ferrero again.

Pictures of JC posing with members of the team.

pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
pic 4
pic 5
pic 6
pic 7
pic 8


More posing 0_0... oh well. In other news, JC left for Athens today. All the best to him at the Games ^^

Posted by nana at 4:59 AM

PHOTO Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) poses for a portrait for ATP Tennis at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 3, 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio.



Thanks Vanessa ^^

Posted by nana at 2:26 AM

AUDIO a clip from 1st round interview, it's in Spanish. To check it out click here.

Posted by Unknown at 4:51 PM