Federer Takes Ferrero Behind the Woodshed, Ascends to No. 1 Ranking
Posted on January 31, 2004
If Friday's semifinal at the Australian Open was any indication of Roger Federer's new-found confidence in 2004, the Swiss could be in for a long stay at the top of the ATP Rankings.The No. 2-seeded Federer reached his first Aussie Open final with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 schooling of No. 3 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in just 1 hour, 29 minutes. It was the first time the Spaniard Ferrero had faced a seeded player in his weakened side of the draw.
Ferrero, who has complained of various injuries throughout the Australian fortnight, said he was hindered in the match by leg pain.
"Roger today had an easy match, he didn't have to run a lot because of me," Ferrero said. "In the first set first set I started to feel a lot of pain in my right leg and couldn't drive (the ball) so well. It was a disaster. I was today not so good. I think I couldn't play my best tennis. I think that if I'm 100 percent, I could win the match. When I go too far to get the ball I felt too much pain and then to recover to get the ball, it's not so good...I was taking anti-inflammatories but it wasn't enough to be okay today."
The Sunday (Aussie time) final will pit cool-as-a-cucumber brand-spankin'-new No. 1 Federer against the unseeded temperamental former No. 1 Marat Safin.
ROGER FEDERER vs. MARAT SAFIN
Federer leads 3-1
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2002 Moscow, Carpet, Safin 7-5, 6-4
2002 Hamburg TMS, Clay, Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-4
2002 Davis Cup Rd 1, Clay, Federer 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
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2001 Rome TMS, Clay, Federer 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
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In Saturday's doubles final, defending champion Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro will face top-seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan. The brothers lead the head-to-head 3-1, but a win would be sweet revenge for Santoro, who was earlier this week kicked out of the French Davis Cup doubles slot due to a feud with captain Guy Forget. It is the third consecutive Aussie Open final for the French pair.
"We want to start the year off number one and keep it," Mike Bryan said. The Americans have made three of the last four slam doubles finals but are playing in the final in Melbourne for the first time.
BRYAN BROTHERS (USA) vs. LLODRA/SANTORO (FRA)
Bryans lead 3-1
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2003 TMS-Monte Carlo, Clay, Llodra/Santoro 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2003 Masters Cup, Hard, Bryan/Bryan 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
2003 Masters Cup, Hard, Bryan/Bryan 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
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2002 TMS-Indian Wells, Hard, Bryan/Bryan 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
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In the women's doubles final Friday, without rivals the Williams sisters or Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama in the draw to stop them, the top-seeded team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez breezed to their fifth slam title without dropping a set in Melbourne, easing by No. 4-seeded Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-3 in 75 minutes.
Last year the pair lost in the final to the Williams sisters, who this year could not compete after the withdrawal of Serena. Clijsters only competed in the singles due to a twisted ankle the week before the event.
"Last year we lost the final, so it's more special," Ruano Pascual said. "The special thing for us is playing together." The pair also have two French and two US Open crowns, and last year lost in the French and Wimbledon finals to Clijsters-Sugiyama.
Friday's women's singles final will be an all-waffle affair in No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. No. 2 Kim Clijsters, with the No. 1 ranking in the balance. "I've come to so many Davis Cup matches here, and now to be on court, and have the support of the crowd, it's very special," said "Aussie Kim." "I've made the final at the French and US Open, but coming here means a lot more to me."
JUSTINE HENIN-HARDENNE vs. KIM CLIJSTERS
Clijsters leads 9-6
2001 Indian Wells, Hard, CLIJSTERS 6-1 4-6 3-6
2001 French Open, Clay, CLIJSTERS 6-2 5-7 3-6
2001 's-Hertogenbosch, Grass, HENIN-HARDENNE 6-4 3-6 6-3
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2002 Sydney, Hard, CLIJSTERS 6-7(6) 2-6
2002 Australian Open, Hard, CLIJSTERS 2-6 3-6
2002 Rome, Clay, HENIN-HARDENNE 7-5 6-2
2002 WTA Championships, Hard, CLIJSTERS 2-6 1-6
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2003 Sydney, Hard, CLIJSTERS 2-6 3-6
2003 Antwerp, Carpet, CLIJSTERS 2-6 6-7(3)
2003 Berlin, Clay, HENIN-HARDENNE 6-4 4-6 7-5
2003 French Open, Clay, HENIN-HARDENNE 6-0 6-4
2003 's-Hertogenbosch, Grass, CLIJSTERS 7-6(4) 0-3 ret.
2003 San Diego, Hard, HENIN-HARDENNE 3-6 6-2 6-3
2003 US Open, Hard, HENIN-HARDENNE 7-5 6-1
2003 Filderstadt, Hard, CLIJSTERS 7-5 4-6 2-6
TENNIS-X AUSSIE OPEN OPEN ERA TOP 10
Andre Agassi is the top player the Australian Open has seen in the Open Era (since 1968), surpassing Guillermo Vilas from the slam's "less competitive" era, with only one Aussie on the list (through Jan. 30, 2004, min. 20 matches):
1. Andre Agassi (USA) 44-4 .917
2. Guillermo Vilas (ARG) 23-3 .885
3. Stefan Edberg (SWE) 56-10 .848
4. Mats Wilander (SWE) 36-7 .837
5. Pete Sampras (USA) 45-9 .833
6. Ivan Lendl 48-10 (USA) .828
7. Jim Courier (USA) 35-8 .814
8. John Newcombe (AUS) 30-7 .811
9. Johan Kriek (RSA) 25-6 .806
10. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 28-7 .800
ATP No. 1 HISTORY
Here is a list of the 23 players who have ranked No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973):
Roger Federer (SUI) 1 week at No. 1 (beginning next week)
Andy Roddick (USA) 13 weeks
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 8
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 80
Gustavo Kuerten (BRA) 43
Marat Safin (RUS) 9
Patrick Rafter (AUS) 1
Yevgeny Kafelnikov (RUS) 6
Carlos Moya (ESP) 2
Marcelo Rios (CHI) 6
Thomas Muster (AUT) 6
Andre Agassi (USA) 101
Pete Sampras (USA) 286
Jim Courier (USA) 58
Boris Becker (GER) 12
Stefan Edberg (SWE) 72
Mats Wilander (SWE) 20
Ivan Lendl (CZE) 270
John McEnroe (USA) 170
Bjorn Borg (SWE) 109
Jimmy Connors (USA) 268
John Newcombe (AUS) 8
Ilie Nastase (ROM) 40
NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
From our Carling-sauced Tennis-X reporter on site in Oz: "For those interested, Paulo Saurez (sic) and Virginia something Raunu Pascual defeated Elena something and Svetlana Kuznetsova to win their fifth career Grand Slam. During their award speech, the dynamic duo thanked all the top girls for not playing doubles anymore the past year (kidding)."...Someone tell Pat Cash to quit going off on players, it's getting old...That kid sitting next to Lleyton Hewitt during Kim's last match was the son of an AFL friend...Lleyton Hewitt's soon-to-be wife Kim Clijsters says she will stick with her surname rather than go with her husband's. Speculation, however, continues that Hewitt may change his name to Lleyton Clijsters if she keeps winning more slams than him...Marat Safin says he trained hard with fitness guru Walt Landers in December, following a regimen similar to that of track star Sebastien Coe...At the Australian Open, when rain is threatening or imminent, at that time the tournament supervisor can make the decision to close the roof. The roof takes about 27 minutes to close (or about the same time as a Belgian early-round blowout) so the players hardly notice. Once closed, the roof will not open until the match is completed...We hear the 2005 WTA and ATP year-end championships may be moving to China. Sorry Mattress Mac, they've got more cash, and are less spastic....Aussie Kim, as Kim Clijsters has been dubbed here, is actually playing better than countrywoman Justine Henin-Hardenne, so we'll take her to win on a whim...Martina Navratilova will vie for her 59th career Grand Slam title Saturday in the mixed doubles finale with partner Leander Paes...The first event ever held at Rod Laver Arena was a boxing match. Go figure...Is Roger Federer that good or is everyone else that bad? Guess when he's compared to the backhand-less Andy Roddick or the out-of-gas Juan Carlos Ferrero, Federer looks like a champ...Andre Agassi gave a shaky answer when asked how he feels about coming back to the Aussie Open next year: "Right now, pretty good. I mean I have no plans to do otherwise (aka 'I'd like to do it.'). But a year's a long time (aka 'I'll have to ask Steffi.'). I really look forward to being back (aka 'I hope she lets me.')." Agassi seemed to linger in giving his customary wave to the four corners of the stadium after his loss to Marat Safin: "I was just saying thank you to them. They've been great to me over the years, just a lot of fun to compete in front of. And you never know when it's your last, right? So you want to say bye properly." That sounds like goodbye to us...Sebastien Grosjean has pulled from France's first round Davis Cup match against Croatia with a groin injury, and will likely be out 1-2 months...Marat Safin had 79 winners to Andre Agassi's 44 in their semifinal match...Both Marat Safin and Andre Agassi went to the net an average of once every seven points during their Aussie Open semifinal (not including the handshake)...Mark Philippoussis called Pat Cash on the phone and ripped him a new one after Cash's allegations that Flipper lost at the Aussie Open because he was "getting busy" with his new companion: "I've had a lot of...abuse hurled at me, rightly or wrongly. There have been arguments and fights...but I've never ever been abused and threatened like I was," Cash said on Channel 9. Asked if it would be safe for him to see the Scud, he said: "That, unfortunately, that I'm not sure." We could surely see him giving you a long-deserved ass-beating Cashy...After being thrashed 6-1, 6-2 by the Bryan twins, Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman (the latter who had a cold) complained that their quarterfinal and semifinal matches were scheduled too close together: "Why the rush for us to have to play today, particularly the way the schedule went last night?" Woodbridge whined...Courtside interviewer John McEnroe to Kim Clijsters concerning countrywoman Justine Henin-Hardenne: "Tell us truthfully. You don't really like her, though."...The Spanish/Argentine combination of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez have appeared in eight consecutive slam doubles finals dating to 2002 Roland Garros, a feat unmatched since Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver reached 11 straight slam finals between 1983 Wimbledon and the 1985 Australian Open...Juan Carlos Ferrero said he is unlikely to play in Spain's Davis Cup first round tie against the Czech Republic next week after complaining of leg injuries during his Oz quest. The Spaniard is a victim of the brutal ATP calendar, which afforded Ferrero little rest between the November Masters Cup, the December Davis Cup final, and the January Aussie Open -- where's the off-season?...How hard-up for talent is the Dutch Davis Cup team when they have to pull Paul Haarhuis out of semi-retirement to play doubles against Canada? Canada?!?...Hey ESPN, way to advertise the live women's final Thursday night in the U.S., and then show the Andre Agassi-Marat Safin tape -- you suck...Hey message board geeks posting that Andre Agassi is too old and should retire because he lost the high-quality semifinal against former No. 1 Marat Safin -- get a clue.