Nearly Perfect Ferrero Wins Title
By Matthew Cronin
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero's dream of winning Roland Garros was finally
achieved on Sunday, when he completely outclassed unseeded Martin Verkerk 6-1,
6-3, 6-2 to win the title. A finalist here last year and a semifinalist in
2000 and 2001, Ferrero always felt like he was born to win the title. But he
didn't bring his game to ethereal heights until Sunday, when it seemed like he
was running on air.
"I has the experience of playing bad last year in the final," he said. "Before
the match, I was thinking that I had to give my best mentally, physically and
tennistically. It was a perfect final for me."
Unlike last year when he played a nervous, sporadic match in his loss to
countryman Albert Costa, Ferrero played a heady, authoritative contest,
returning serve beautifully, exhausting the big Dutchman in long rallies and
hammering winners to all angles of the court.
"He was always playing aggressive and I was always walking behind the fact,"
Verkerk said. "I tried to make the first shot, but he played so heavy.
The 23-year-old Ferrero was ultra-focused upon taking the court in pursuit of
his first Grand Slam title, immediately breaking Verkerk in a long opening
game when Verkerk committed a backhand unforced error. The Spaniard broke
Verkerk again to 4-1 by scorching a forehand return down the middle that the
giant couldn't handle. Ferrero won the set with a gorgeous inside-out forehand
return of serve winner.
"He was returning balls on the lines and at my feet all the time.," Verkerk
said. "Before I moved after my serve, the ball was on my feet. His level was
unbelievable."
Verkerk tried to pump himself up in the second set by gesticulating at his
Dutch supporters who were wedged in the corners of Philippe Chatrier Court,
but he could never gets his heater going and appeared physically and
emotionally exhausted after his long and torturous road to the final, which
included monstrous five-set wins over Luis Horna and Carlos Moya.
Verkerk broke the Spaniard for the first time to 2-1 in the second set with a
backhand volley winner, but Ferrero broke back to 2-2 when Verkerk double
faulted. Verkerk fought off two break points and held to 3-3. But Ferrero
broke him to 5-3 with another bullet forehand return and held to win the set
when he caress a drop shop winner and watched Verkerk commit a backhand error.
Even though Ferrero was clearly in control of the match, Verkerk kept battling
in the third set, but Ferrero was definitively zoning and after fully
stretching out and slapping a forehand crosscourt winner, he broke Verkerk to
2-1 by whipping a forehand into the open court.
In the best game of the match, Verkerk fought off six break points to hold to
3-2, but holding two break points in the next game, he netted a forehand
return and then saw Ferrero nail a backhand down the line.
Ferrero broke Verkerk to 5-2 with a leaping forehand that found a home in the
corner and he won the match when he whipped a forehand into the open court.
"I didn't allow him too be confident at anytime in the match," Ferrero said.
"His main weapon is his serve and I returned well."
The six games won by Verkerk were the fewest by a male player since Guillermo
Vilas won five against Bjorn Borg in 1978.
Verkerk said that his entire game let him down.
"I served around 47 percent, it's not good enough," Verkerk said. "My strokes
weren't good enough. My length wasn't good enough."
Even though he won Monte Carlo and Valencia this year and has been a major
factor on tour the past three years, there were some who doubted if Ferrero
had the nerve to win the world's most important clay court title. But no one's
doubting him now.
"I always believed I would win," said Ferrero, who added that after he won the
match, "I was watching the ground and I thought, 'This is in my pocket. Nobody
can take it away from me.'"
Like women's champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, Ferrero lost his mother ,
Rosario at an early age (she died five years ago). But even though she wasn't
physically with him in his moment of triumph, he felt her spirit.
"In my mind, she was in the first row," he said.
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