Juan Carlos Ferrero

Infobox Tennis player
playername= Juan Carlos Ferrero


nickname = JCF, Mosquito
country= Spain
residence = Villena, Spain
datebirth = birth date and age|1980|2|12
placebirth = Onteniente, Spain
height = height|m=1.82
weight = convert|72|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = 1998
plays = Right-handed; two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney = $11,860,621
singlesrecord = 383–203
singlestitles = 11
highestsinglesranking = No. 1 (September 8, 2003)
AustralianOpenresult = SF (2004)
FrenchOpenresult = W (2003)
Wimbledonresult = QF (2007)
USOpenresult = F (2003)
doublesrecord = 4–23
doublestitles = 0
highestdoublesranking = No. 198 (February 3, 2003)
updated= September 29, 2008

Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (born February 12 1980) or JCF is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the French Open in 2003, and in September that year he became the 21st player to hold the World No. 1 ranking. He has also been a runner-up at two other Grand Slams during his career. His nickname is "Mosquito" due to his speed and wiry, strong physique. His ranking as of 7 July 2008 is No. 33.

Tennis career

Born in Onteniente, Ferrero came to prominence in 1998 making final of the Roland Garros juniors losing to Fernando Gonzalez finishing the year ranked the number 17 junior.

He made his professional debut in 1999, making an immediate splash by reaching the semi-finals of his first tour event in Casablanca. He made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open in August and then in the following month, in only his fifth professional event, he won his first career title in Majorca, Spain.

Ferrero continued his rise throughout 2000 and although he did not win a title, he reached finals in Dubai and Barcelona and helped Spain win the Davis Cup by defeating Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter in the final against Australia. His best performance however was arguably at his first French Open, where he stormed to the semi-finals, losing only to eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten in five sets.

In 2001 Ferrero confirmed his status as one of the game's best clay court players, winning titles in Estoril, Barcelona and Rome, and then reaching the semi-finals at the French Open for the second consecutive year, losing again to Gustavo Kuerten. Ferrero also won the tour event in Dubai, and finished the year ranked five in the world.

2002 saw Ferrero reach his first Grand Slam final at the French Open. However, despite being the strong favourite, he lost to compatriot Albert Costa. His foot was injured during the tournament and he played through taking a lot of cortisone shots. Still, he won titles in Monte Carlo and Hong Kong and reached the final of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, losing a five set final to Lleyton Hewitt. This result saw the Spaniard finish the year ranked fourth in the world.

2003 saw Ferrero have his best year to date, winning the titles in Monte Carlo and Valencia before fulfilling his clay court promise by taking the French Open, easily defeating Dutchman Martin Verkerk in the final. He also went on to reach the final on the hard courts at the US Open, eliminating the likes of Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi before going down to Andy Roddick. This result saw Ferrero become the number one ranked player in the world. He rounded the year off by taking his first indoor title in Madrid and was presented with a "National Sportsman of the Year" award from King Juan Carlos. He would end the year ranked No. 3 in the world.

Injuries however began to plague Ferrero throughout 2004 and his ranking and form dipped. Despite making the Australian Open semifinals early in the year (losing to Roger Federer), chicken pox kept him out for the entire month of March and after a first round loss in Monte Carlo in April, he required another month out for rest and recuperation. On May 8 Ferrero fell during a practice session, injuring his ribs and his right wrist and went into the defence of his French Open crown underprepared. He lost in the second round to Igor Andreev and continued to struggle for the rest of the year, finishing outside the world's top 30 for the first time in five years.

Ferrero looked fresher and healthier in 2005 and began to climb back up towards the top echelons of the game. He reached the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters and the finals of the Open Seat Godo in Barcelona in April, as well as the finals of Vienna later in the year. He ended 2005 ranked #17.

During the 2006 Western and Southern Financial Group Masters event in Cincinnati, Ferrero notched his first Top 10 win of 2006 with a 6–2, 6–4 win over US #1 and World No. 5 player James Blake. A few days later, Ferrero followed this up with a straight set, 7–6(2), 7–6(3) win over World No. 2 Rafael Nadal and then a 6–3, 6–4 win against World No. 7 Tommy Robredo, to move into the final of an ATP Masters Series event for the first time since 2003. In the final, Ferrero lost to Andy Roddick 6–3, 6–4, to whom he also lost in the 2003 U.S. Open.

In 2007, Ferrero reached the final of the Brasil Open, where he lost to Guillermo Cañas, and the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, where he lost to Carlos Moyà. At the Australian Open, Ferrero lost in the second round to Danai Udomchoke of Thailand. He was eliminated during the round robin portion of the Copa Telemex tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the first round of the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand. He managed to reach the Quarterfinals of Wimbledon losing 7–6 (2), 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 to Roger Federer. Ferrero never reproduced his 2003 form at this year's Roland Garros, losing in the third round to Mikhail Youzhny 6–7, 7–6, 6–2, 6–2. He lost at the 2007 U.S. Open to Feliciano López in the first round.

Ferrero started 2008 strongly, and looked to be regaining some vintage form. He reached the final of the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand and convincingly defeated David Nalbandian, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in straight sets to advance to the fourth round at the 2008 Australian Open. After the Australian Open, Ferrero suffered early losses to Nicolas Mahut at the 2008 Open 13 in Marseille and at the 2008 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam to Teimuraz Gabashvili. Following these two losses, Ferrero then lost to Andy Roddick at Dubai, 6-2, 6-4. He made a fourth round appearance at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters, but Nalbandian defeated him, in return for his Australian Open loss, 6-2, 6-2. At the 2008 Miami Masters, Ferrero lost to Tomáš Berdych in the third round. He lost to Marat Safin in three sets at the 2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana in the first round. At the 2008 Monte Carlo Masters, showings still were mediocre for the Spaniard, as he lost to Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 6-1.

However, Ferrero displayed excellent form at the 2008 Rome Masters, beating Nicolas Kiefer 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, and then stunning number two Rafael Nadal. Ferrero had lost at Monte Carlo to Nadal two weeks earlier, and Nadal had won seventeen successive matches on the Roman tennis courts, triumphing over him 7-5, 6-1. cite news | url =http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/rome_wednesday2.asp| title =Ferrero Upsets Clay King; Blake Bounces Local Hope| author =Association of Tennis Professionals| date =2008-05-07| accessdate =2008-05-08| language =English] [ [http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2008/416/mds.pdf 2008 Rome Masters Men's Singles Draw] ]

Although Ferrero was known as one of the best clay court player during his prime, he has distinguished himself as an all court player through his solid performance on hard court tournaments. He actually said during an interview that he prefers to play on hard courts. Tennis experts agreed that Ferrero's clay court game translated well into hard court due to his aggressive style of playing.

Ferrero's inspiration has been his mother who died from cancer when he was 17. He is also one of only a handful of players in the tennis open era to have reached the quarterfinal stage of all four Grand Slam events.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

ingles

Wins (1)

Runner-ups (2)

* A = did not attend tournament
* LQ = lost in qualifying draw
*NH = tournament not held

ATP Tour career earnings

: * As of May 28, 2008.

References

External links

*
* [http://steveghelper.com/MatchResults.php?players=Ferrero&weeks=12 Ferrero Recent Match Results]
* [http://steveghelper.com/RankingHistory.php?player=Ferrero Ferrero World Ranking History]
* [http://www.daviscup.com/teams/player.asp?player=30014719 Davis Cup record]
* [http://www.juanqui.net Juan Carlos Ferrero fansite (English)]
* [http://www.juancarlosferrero.com Official Website (Spanish)]