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Juan Carlos Ferrero heaved a sigh of relief as he walked off court on Monday evening. Having reached the final of last year’s tournament, the Spaniard has many points to defend here in Rotterdam. And he’s certainly off to a good start, beating Rainer Schüttler of Germany in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).
“I am delighted with this victory,” Ferrero said afterwards. “I couldn’t find my rhythm during last week’s match against Joachim Johansson in Marseille, but I’ve trained hard over the last few days. I had a tough tournament here last year. On the way to the final, I won no less than four matches in the tiebreak of the third set. And yet I feel that I played better tonight than I did last year. I hope this will be a good tournament for me.”
Although Ferrero and Schüttler were seeded for last year’s tournament, both players have slipped a long way down the rankings over the past 12 months. Ferrero has fallen from 3rd to 64th, while Schüttler has slipped from 6th to 38th. Ferrero’s decline is primarily attributable to a series of injuries. Having been diagnosed as susceptible to chicken pocks, the Spaniard spent the month of March on the sidelines. He returned in good form, however, beating Raemon Sluiter and Martin Verkerk during the Davis Cup against the Netherlands, which was played in Mallorca.
Although Ferrero had also hoped to defend his title at Roland Garros, he was plagued by bruised ribs and a wrist injury. Rather than reach the final, he was knocked out by Igor Andreev during the second round.
“People often forget that I was unable to play tennis for five months in 2004. With the exception of Rotterdam, I have no points to defend this year. In other words, if I suffer a second-round defeat here, I’ll slip to 70th or so in the ATP rankings. If I could just win a few matches, everything will be just fine.”
Juan Carlos Ferrero, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday, will either play David Nalbandian (4) or Radek Stepanek during the second round.
Juan Carlos Ferrero heaved a sigh of relief as he walked off court on Monday evening. Having reached the final of last year’s tournament, the Spaniard has many points to defend here in Rotterdam. And he’s certainly off to a good start, beating Rainer Schüttler of Germany in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).
“I am delighted with this victory,” Ferrero said afterwards. “I couldn’t find my rhythm during last week’s match against Joachim Johansson in Marseille, but I’ve trained hard over the last few days. I had a tough tournament here last year. On the way to the final, I won no less than four matches in the tiebreak of the third set. And yet I feel that I played better tonight than I did last year. I hope this will be a good tournament for me.”
Although Ferrero and Schüttler were seeded for last year’s tournament, both players have slipped a long way down the rankings over the past 12 months. Ferrero has fallen from 3rd to 64th, while Schüttler has slipped from 6th to 38th. Ferrero’s decline is primarily attributable to a series of injuries. Having been diagnosed as susceptible to chicken pocks, the Spaniard spent the month of March on the sidelines. He returned in good form, however, beating Raemon Sluiter and Martin Verkerk during the Davis Cup against the Netherlands, which was played in Mallorca.
Although Ferrero had also hoped to defend his title at Roland Garros, he was plagued by bruised ribs and a wrist injury. Rather than reach the final, he was knocked out by Igor Andreev during the second round.
“People often forget that I was unable to play tennis for five months in 2004. With the exception of Rotterdam, I have no points to defend this year. In other words, if I suffer a second-round defeat here, I’ll slip to 70th or so in the ATP rankings. If I could just win a few matches, everything will be just fine.”
Juan Carlos Ferrero, who celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday, will either play David Nalbandian (4) or Radek Stepanek during the second round.
