[News]Massu Masters Sluiter
PRIORITY TELECOM DUTCH OPEN_AMERSFOORT
July 20, 2003
Massu Masters Sluiter
Chilean Nicolas Massu claims his first singles title of 2003.
Chile's Nicolas Massu won his second ATP title in his fourth career final
with a 6-4, 7-6(3) 6-2 win over Raemon Sluiter of the Netherlands, lasting
two hours and 25 minutes. The Chilean earned 35 ATP Champions Race points
and US$ 52,000.
En route to winning the title, Massu defeated Morocco's Hicham Arazi,
Brazil's Andre Sa, Dennis van Scheppingen of the Netherlands in the
quarterfinals and Luis Horna of Peru in the semifinals. The 23-year-old
from Chile was playing here for the second time. He first competed at the
event in 2000, reaching the quarterfinals and now holds a 7-1 record at the
event.
Before the Dutch Open, the young Chilean reached the quarterfinals this
year in Casablanca (losing to Younes El Aynaoui) and in Valencia (losing to
Fernando Vicente).
This was his fourth career ATP final. In 2002, he captured his first career
ATP title in Buenos Aires. In 2001, he reached the final in Adelaide
(defeating Henman in the semifinals, lost to Tommy Haas in the final) and
in 2000 he reached the final in Orlando (losing to Gonzalez).
This was Raemon Sluiter's third career ATP final, all of which have been in
the Netherlands: Rotterdam (2003) and Amsterdam (2000). The 25-year-old
Dutchman was playing at the Dutch Open for the fifth consecutive year.
Sluiter still holds an impressive 9-5 record at the event, reaching the
final in 2000 before losing to Sweden's Magnus Gustafsson in four sets.
En route to this year's final, he defeated Alexander Waske of Germany in the
first round, Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka (Roland Garros Junior Champion)
in the second round, Spain's Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the quarterfinals and
Albert Montanes in the semifinals.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Massu: "It feels fantastic to have won the Dutch Open. This tournament is
very important to me. Raemon (Sluiter) played a great match. It was very
intense, but I felt relaxed out there, almost as though I knew I was going
to win. I remember the last time I played in the final of Buenos Aires. I
felt so nervous coming into the match and especially when I was serving for
the title. Today, I didn't have those feelings."
"I would like to celebrate my win now, but there is little time. I have to
catch a flight shortly and my mind is already in Kitzbuhel where I will be
competing next week."
"When I won my first title in Buenos Aires, I felt I was playing the best
tennis of my career. Two weeks later, I was hit by injuries. After two
operations on my knee, I couldn't play for months and when I came back, I
suffered from a lack of confidence. Now I feel my game is peaking again and
I am looking forward to the rest of the season with great eagerness. My
immediate aim now is to be in the Top 50, but I hope to end the year in the
Top 20. Of course, my dream is to be in the Top 10, but that won't be easy.
There are so many good players out there, but it is still my long term goal."
"I think Sluiter is a great player. He can play on any surface and not many
players are afforded with that talent. Perhaps he feels more comfortable on
different surfaces, but to reach the final of the Dutch Open twice means he
can play very well on clay."
"The support for Sluiter today was very good. They were extremely encouraging
all the way through the match, urging him to do well. In Chile the crowds
are different. People really get into it and go crazy if you lose."
Sluiter: "In the first set I had some chances, but during the rest of the
match I stood no chance at all. He played very well, with a lot of length in
his shots. I played this tournament the same way I do on grass courts. That
is my type of game, I can't stay at the baseline the whole time."
"I play tournaments for a better ranking and to win some titles. So it is
very hard for me that I haven't won a title and lost in three finals. I
enjoyed playing here today, with this crowd. I really liked it today. We are
not just tennis players, but we are also performers."
"I am very pleased with my results for the first half of the year. My
ranking is better and I think I am a better player. Not just ranking, but
also mentally and physically I am much better. That is more important than
my ranking. I want to play only ATP tournaments and not Challengers any
more. Playing the qualifying at an ATP tournaments is more interesting to
me than playing Challenger main draws."
Fisher: "It was our first title as a team and our first title period. It
hasn't quite sunk in yet. In terms of ranking, we are both at a career high
at the moment and we hope this success will continue and we can grow from
here."
Bowen: "We knew if we were playing our best tennis we would have a chance
today, but we definitely wouldn't have predicted that score line."
"We have been playing together for around two years now and it feels good
to have finally won our first title. We have lost important matches in the
past."
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※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
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