Ferrero, Federer Clash in Rome Semifinals
※ [本文轉錄自 Spain_PL 看板]
作者: esnique (小鱷) 看板: Spain_PL
標題: Ferrero, Federer Clash in Rome Semifinals
時間: Sat May 10 14:09:13 2003
TELECOM ITALIA MASTERS ROMA, MAY 9, 2003
Ferrero, Federer Clash in Rome Semifinals
The Swiss encounters his first set-loss of the week against Italian wild card
Filippo Volandri.
Fourth seed Roger Federer ousted wild card and crowd favorite Filippo Volandri
6-3, 5-7, 6-2, thus winning his 35th match of the 2003 season. The Italian
handed Federer his first set-loss since falling to Albert Costa in the Miami
quarterfinals in March.
Federer's semifinal opponent is No. 2 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, who improved
his 2003 record on clay to 21-1 by scoring a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Germany's
Rainer Schuettler.
Ferrero competes in Rome for the fourth time in his career and holds a 13-2
record at the Foro Italico. It was here that the 23-year-old captured his
first Tennis Masters Series title in 2001 and has lifted a total of three
Tennis Masters Series shields in his career. The other two are Monte Carlo
in 2002 and 2003.
Unseeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov earned a place among the final four by defeating
Dutch qualifier Martin Verkerk 6-3, 7-5. The Russian, who is playing in Rome
for the tenth consecutive time, now holds a 16-9 record in the Italian capital.
Kafelnikov is seeking his first Tennis Masters Series title after having
appeared in five finals. The last time he reached the semifinals at this level
was in Paris two years ago, when he defeated Andreas Vinciguerra before
falling to Sebastien Grosjean in the final. He is the player that have won
the most Tennis Masters Series matches, 115, without having captured a title.
The Russian's opponent in the semifinals is the winner between Ivan Ljubicic
and Felix Mantilla, who play in the last quarterfinal of the day.
Also on Friday, Felix Mantilla reached his third ATP semifinal of the year,
coming back from a set down to defeat Ivan Ljubicic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Earlier
this year, the Spaniard reached the final four in Auckland (l to Hrbaty) and
Acapulco (l to Calleri). He also reached the fourth round at the Australian
Open, where he fell to Sebastien Grosjean.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Verkerk: "I had my chances in the second set. The first set he was just too
good and I was making some mistakes. He played really well today, hitting the
ball deep, no mistakes. You have to have a lot of respect for the way he
played."
"I knew that I could play on any surface. I had a lot of confidence out there
these last few days. To make the quarterfinals in Rome is really a great
accomplishment."
On if he could have done something differently
"I was getting a little sore in the shoulder, and maybe I should have... or
could have served a little better, but really it was a great week for me."
On what's next?
"I am going home and will focus most importantly on getting some rest and
training again. Then I am playing St. Poelten before going to Roland Garros.
If I play like this I can beat a lot of players, but you never know, I could
also play someone like Kafelnikov in the first round and have a tough match."
Ferrero: "At 5-1 and set ball [in the first set], it was incredible then to
be 5-4 and 15-all. I had to concentrate because it was very difficult to be
5-4 after 5-1."
About meeting Federer
"Tomorrow is gonna be difficult. He won Hamburg last year, so he played very
well on clay last year. He's playing right now very good also because he came
from Munich, winning a tournament. I'm going to try to play very aggressive
all the time, try to return his big serve. And, as you know, it's the first
time we're going to meet on clay, so we have to see what's happen."
Federer: About losing his first set this week
"I don't think I should have lost the set the way I did, getting broken after
leading 30-15 and had a chance to win a point to go 40-15. But he stayed in
that point, and I kind of gave him a sniff there and he took it. That was
unfortunate."
"I think I could have won the match in two sets, but for me it was just
important not to be too frustrated and just in the beginning get the early
break. And this is what happened."
About meeting Ferrero
"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a really tough battle. I think
it's a match-up that everybody hoped for. So I'm looking forward to it, too."
"What can I say. He's been playing good, I've been playing great. We both have
confidence, so it should be a good match tomorrow. I'll give it my best shot.
I'll try to play my game, which means mix it up and use my serve and come to
the net maybe a little bit more than I did the last few matches, and hopefully
I can give him a really tough match tomorrow."
About Volandri's game
"I saw a little bit of the match yesterday, and I saw he had a great backhand.
His only weakness is the serve. I think this is no secret. He knows it
himself. I think he doesn't get a lot of free points, so he has to work very
hard on each point. But he's been moving very well, and he's been hitting his
forehand well."
"I was ready for a tough match, but maybe not as tough as it was in the end.
But I'm not surprised that it went three sets because he's got his crowd
behind him and he's got a will to win at home. This is normal."
Kafelnikov: "I was quite happy to have a good start, especially in the
beginning of the match to be able to break him right away to let him know
that, he's gonna struggle on his own serve."
"Today I was able to read his serve perfectly, maybe just because it was a
clay court, a different game than I had couple months ago indoors when I
played him in Milan."
About winning his first Tennis Masters Series title
"It would have been nice to have at least one Masters Series event. But it's
still long way to go, two matches. But I'll definitely try."
About postponing his retirement
"I started to feel much healthier. That's the main reason why I'm still here."
"I'm physically much more stronger, that's one thing. The other thing is I
have been winning consistently a few matches in a row; that's second. Third,
you know, it's belief. I've won the toughest Grand Slam of all four - the
French Open. Belief is still in me. I can do it again, sure."
"I had a very difficult period of time throughout the middle of last season.
For me, it was very, very difficult to come back at least to the shape where
I am right now, and I'm probably only halfway where I once was."
--
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◆ From: 61.230.100.252
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※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.230.100.252
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