Ferrero Puts Spain Ahead
http://www.daviscup.org/news/matchreport.asp?id=12500
For an hour there was a superb contest, a slightly nervous and
impatient Juan Carlos Ferrero being matched by the consistent
groundstrokes of Gaston Gaudio. But once Ferrero had taken the
first set in 63 minutes, he didn't lose another game, giving
Spain the first point in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas semifinal
against Argentina.
Ferrero's 64 60 60 win was expected, but Gaudio's capitulation
after an absorbing first set was disappointing, though the majority
of the 14,000 spectators in the almost full temporary stadium
hardly minded.
The atmosphere was a treat. In a unique venue - the kind that
only gets created by the temporary nature of Davis Cup ties - the
blue and white Argentine flags mixed in with the majority red and
yellow presence of Spain in a raucous but friendly environment.
The spectators shimmered with the fluttering of hand-held fans,
a brass band added music to the chanting and clapping, and grains
of sand were carried in by the coastal breeze, collecting on the
empty seats of the few late-comers.
Ferrero was almost a late-comer himself. His first forehand sailed
over Gaudio's baseline, and the bulk of his normally reliable
groundstrokes were being sprayed all over the court. Gaudio built
up a 3-1 lead and at 40-15 looked in control of the first set. But
he was casual on his first game point, and within a couple of
minutes he had been broken.
In a set moving very slowly - 32 minutes for four games, 45 for
six - Gaudio still seemed to hold the advantage, but the match's
best point at 2-3 30-30 brought Ferrero back into it. Twice Ferrero
came to the net, twice Gaudio forced defensive smashes with
precision lobbing, but when Gaudio hit an aggressive backhand
long, the momentum shifted.
When Ferrero broke to lead 4-3, it seemed the set was his, but
Gaudio broke back for 4-4. If at that stage someone had suggested
it would be Gaudio's last game, it would have seemed preposterous,
but that's what happened, the world No. 1 reeling off 14 straight
games. He won the first set 6-4 on a backhand error in a marathon
63 minutes, and an hour later was the hero of the stadium after
sealing victory in two hours three minutes.
Ferrero was understandably pleased: "After I won the first set I
played a fantastic match," he said." Gaston was playing very hard
and without mistakes in the first set and I couldn't play my game.
I wanted to win easily and hit a lot of winners, but I played
fantastic in the second and third sets."
Gaudio said: "I had my small chance at 3-1 in the first set, but
after that he was too good. He played like a world No. 1 after the
first set."
The victory puts added pressure on Mariano Zabaleta, Argentina's
second player, next on court against Spain's Carlos Moya. Zabaleta
beat Moya in B摄tad two months ago, but goes into this match having
never won a live Davis Cup rubber.
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死水的閃光，那裡飄著 已經發綠的小小快樂，
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※ 編輯: esnique 來自: 61.230.102.204 (09/20 02:30)