The 21-year-old Spaniard was brilliant last week in Rome, cruising to the final without losing a set, then rallying from a set down against Gustavo Kuerten to prevail in five. As well as Ferrero played during the week, his victory was still surprising -- if only because Kuerten seemed on cruise control throughout the tournament.
Rome was Ferrero's fourth title this year, but beating a player like Kuerten made it that much more important to the Spaniard. His previous victories in 2001 came in Dubai, Estoril and Barcelona, where he defeated Marat Safin (who retired with an injury), Felix Mantilla and Carlos Moya, respectively, in the finals.
In fact, Moya and Kuerten are the only players ranked in the top 30 Ferrero has played since the Ericsson Open in March, so it's not like he's dominating the best the tour has to offer each week. But Ferrero is comfortable on clay and gaining more confidence with each win. He will be a factor in Paris, but we may have to wait a year or two before he can win seven best-of-five matches in a row.
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Oh, it's her again |
Amelie Mauresmo just seems to sneak up on you. She doesn't get much attention from the fans or media during the week, but keeps fighting her way into semis and finals -- and for the most part this year, winning them. The Frenchwoman improved to 27-2 with her three-set victory over Jennifer Capriati in the Berlin final last week, moving up to a career-best No. 6 world ranking. Her 17-match winning streak earlier this year covered three surfaces (hard, carpet and clay) and demonstrated that Mauresmo is ready to play deep into the draw in every tournament she enters. We'll see if she can do it again this week in Rome.
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As Wimbledon turns |
Is it June 25 yet? We apparently won't have relief from the great Wimbledon seeding debate until the tournament actually starts. The latest salvo in the ongoing battle came from British stars Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski last week. Both players told the Telegraph that the All England Club should directly follow the ATP Entry System for seeding, as every other tournament does. A final decision from Wimbledon is scheduled to come before the conclusion of the French Open.
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Combined record on clay this year for the five highest-ranked U.S. players -- Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jan-Michael Gambill, Todd Martin and Michael Chang -- through play in last week's Masters Series - Rome. The next American in the pecking order, Andy Roddick, is 10-0 on clay in 2001. |
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ACE
Justine Henin The Belgian teen scored the upset of the week, taking apart Venus Williams in straight sets at the German Open, then extended Capriati to a third set before an injury forced her out. Keep an eye on her when she recovers. |
DOUBLE FAULT
Marcelo Rios The tour's least-liked player added to his legend a few hours after he was whipped by Ferrero in Rome. He allegedly hit a cab driver, then went after two policemen who were called to intervene. Don't go away mad, Marcelo, just go away. |
ACE
Andres Vinciguerra Unheralded Swede rolled all the way to the semifinals in Rome before running into the Kuerten buzzsaw. Not bad for a guy who was crushed in straight sets in his first-round match in Monte Carlo. |
DOUBLE FAULT
American men The pasta was barely on the table and all of the U.S. representatives in Rome had been ousted. Only Chang won his first-round match, and he was sent packing by Kuerten in the second.
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Ferrero jumped into second place in the ATP Champions Race, and moved from ninth to sixth in the Entry System with his win in Rome. |
NCAA tennis is definitely top-heavy. In both the men's and women's tournaments, the round of 16 is composed of 14 of the top 16 seeds. UCLA and Wake Forest are the exceptions on the women's side, USC and Mississippi State on the men's.
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Television ratings for the WTA Tour increased across the board during the first quarter of the year, including a 91-percent ratings jump compared to last year for the Ericsson Open final. |
The old guys can still play: John McEnroe outlasted Pat Cash 7-6 (4), 5-7 and 10-7 in the final tiebreaker to win the Newport Beach senior tour event.
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Bart McGuire, CEO of the WTA Tour since 1998, announced last week that he will retire at the end of the year. He's leading the search for his successor. |
Roddick took a break last week after winning in Atlanta and Houston by hanging out with his brother John, the assistant tennis coach at the University of Georgia. Roddick will be back in action this week at the World Team Cup.
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Lynn (Fla.) pulled a huge upset in the NCAA Division II women's final, snapping BYU-Hawaii's 103-match winning streak to take the championship. In the men's final, Rollins (Fla.) defeated Hawaii-Pacific.
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"The players don't attend to their match fitness. The Williamses only get psyched up for the major events and don't play a tournament the following week." |
Australian legend Margaret Court on why Venus and Serena won't reach No. 1 if they continue to play as they do now.
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"With all respect to Roger, we have completely different results. I have more competitions, more titles, a grand slam. You can't compare us."
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Marat Safin after his three-set loss to Swiss teen Roger Federer in Rome. |
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This week - ATP Tour |
This is the last week for many top players to get their game ready for Paris. The same cast of characters that played in Rome last week turns to the Masters Series - Hamburg, where Kuerten is again the top seed. |
This week - WTA Tour |
The women take over for the men in Rome, but with a slightly depleted field. Martina Hingis, Capriati and Mauresmo are there, but the Williams sisters and Monica Seles pulled out. |
Next week - ATP Tour |
The World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, a Davis Cup-style event on clay. |
| Next week - WTA Tour |
Low-profile tournaments in Strasbourg and Madrid serve as the final tune-ups for the French Open.
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