 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Grosjean edges Ferrero makes, quarters Posted: Tuesday July 01, 2003 6:10 PMWIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Sebastien Grosjean reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time Tuesday when he beat French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero in a match played over two days, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3). Grosjean was leading Ferrero 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2) on Court 1 when play was suspended Monday because of darkness. The 25-year-old Frenchman then took 68 minutes to win the final set Tuesday afternoon. Grosjean, seeded 13th, next faces Britain's Tim Henman in the quarterfinals. Grosjean defeated Henman last month in the Queens Club tournament, a traditional warmup for Wimbledon. "I'm really happy to be in the last eight because it is my first time here," Grosjean said. "I beat pretty good players here." Grosjean made the fourth round at Wimbledon on his debut in 1998. He played Henman on Centre Court three years ago and lost, but knows what to expect from the partisan crowd. "I have to start the match very well and hit the ball pretty well at the beginning," Grosjean said. "Because if Tim has a good start, with the public behind, he will have more confidence." The last Frenchman to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals was Nicolas Escude in 2001. Escude lost to Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Tuesday, third-seeded Ferrero broke in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead, but Grosjean immediately broke back on his fourth break point. With the score 4-4, a Ferrero drop shot double bounced before Grosjean hit it back over the net. Ferrero ignored the return, but umpire Lars Graff didn't see the extra bounce and gave the point to Grosjean. Ferrero complained and Grosjean asked for the point to be awarded against him, prompting loud cheers from the crowd for his sportsmanship. "It was very good of him," Ferrero said. "He's a nice guy." Ferrero saved two break points in that game but was broken two games later. Serving at 6-5, Grosjean wasted one match point with a forehand into the net as Ferrero broke to force a tiebreaker. Grosjean took a 5-2 lead as Ferrero became frustrated with close line calls and unlucky net cords. The Frenchman won with an ace and raised both hands in triumph before hitting the ball into the crowd. Both players left to a standing ovation. This year's Wimbledon is Ferrero's best performance on grass -- the Grosjean match only the 10th grass-court match of his career. Ferrero was bidding to be the first Spaniard to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals since Manuel Orantes in 1972 and only the second men's player in the last 10 years after Andre Agassi in 1999 to win the French and reach the final eight at Wimbledon in the same year. "I didn't serve as well as yesterday," Ferrero said. "I was playing very good this Wimbledon on grass. I think I can play very good here. That's new because the other years I didn't feel so well." |
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
