RESULTS/ARTICLE Ferrero escapes on Court No2 JC won! 6-3 2-6 6-2 6-4
Juan Carlos Ferrero is in to the second round at Roland Garros, but not without a fight from 17-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro.
The 2003 French champion needed four sets and two hours, 57 minutes to oust the youngest man in the draw, 6-3 2-6 6-2 6-4, on a cold and overcast Monday. At times, the Argentine qualifier controlled the match, but seemed to run out of gas as Ferrero pulled away over the final two sets.
The match mirrored Ferrero's recent history, during which his ranking dropped to No70 in the world, rose to 18th and is now at No27. The Spaniard had little trouble claiming the first set after building a 5-1 lead. But in the second, Del Potro attacked and reeled off the final four games to level the match.
Del Potro, in his Grand Slam debut, returned brilliantly in the second set, earning break points in all four of Ferrero's service games. That trend continued early in the third, but the youngster showed his inexperience and allowed Ferrero to reclaim control of the tilt.
With a chance to break to 2-0, Del Potro got tight and passed up four break points. Ferrero held and, in a flash, led, 5-1.
In the fourth set, Ferrero made an early break hold up, finally closing out the match when a Del Potro return died in the net.
Ferrero is still trying to find his form on clay. He reached the Barcelona quarters and the round of 16 in Monte Carlo and Hamburg, but also lost his opening round match three times (Salvador, Valencia and Rome).
Ferrero, the No24 seed, will play Philipp Kohlschreiber or Olivier Marach in the second round. He has yet to face either.
