A pensive Ferrero finally takes the crown

Published : Jun 21, 2003 00:00 IST

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO, French Open champion. It has had the proper ring to it for several springs now, but that did not necessarily make it easier to achieve.

CHRISTOPHER CLAREYNew York Times News Service

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO, French Open champion. It has had the proper ring to it for several springs now, but that did not necessarily make it easier to achieve.

It is difficult to swing freely when the public, the news media and you are already thinking ahead to the trophy. Yet, how could everyone not get ahead of themselves? Ferrero has everything that clay-court success requires: the penetrating ground strokes, the drop shots, the effective if not overwhelming serve, the motivation, the speed, the endurance.

All that he lacks is the communicative enthusiasm and gift for gab that turns champions into stars. But that was hardly enough reason not to lean forward on Court Philippe Chatrier and admire the sight of a young, driven man closing the gap between expectation and reality.

After all the privation and preparation, after leaving home at age 14 to live in his coach Antonio Martinez's humble tennis academy near Valencia, after his mother died from cancer and after losing here for three straight years to the eventual winner, Ferrero really is the French Open champion. Although he has been shaky on this court before, he allowed no room for doubt in his 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory over unseeded Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands.

Verkerk, a 6-foot-6 cocktail of big serves and bonhomie who sports a proud Dutchman's orange wristband, was the surprise of the tournament in his first appearance at Roland Garros, eliminating the clay-court heavyweights Carlos Moya and Guillermo Coria on his improbable journey to the final. But on an overcast, gusty day, it was as if the red grit that was constantly swirling in the air corrupted both his confidence and his service motion.

He put only 47 per cent of his powerful first serves into play, meaning he had to play too many long baseline points, beginning with the first game, when Ferrero broke his serve after a 10-minute tussle. Verkerk was constantly on the defensive against Ferrero, and his weaker stroke — the forehand — eventually broke down.

"His level was unbelievable good," the 24-year-old Verkerk said in his engagingly imperfect English. "And maybe I was not playing the way I can, but maybe I did not play so good because he let me not play better than this. So I'm not happy of course, because it's maybe better to lose in five sets or something, but on the other hand, I can say now, `OK, I had no chance.'"

It took just two hours and eight minutes for Ferrero, a 23-year-old Spaniard, to underscore the obvious, and the only time he looked distracted was when a streaker jumped out of the stands after the third game of the second set.

The only time Ferrero looked vulnerable all afternoon was when he pitched forward onto his knees after hitting the forehand winner that closed out the match and his first Grand Slam victory. He does not plan on it being his last.

"I'm going to try to become the best player in the world," said Ferrero, who is ranked No. 3 behind Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi.

In his first two appearances here in 2000 and 2001, he was beaten in the semifinals by the eventual champion, Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil. Last year, Ferrero sprained his ankle during a practice session after the first round and had to leave the Roland Garros' grounds on crutches. It appeared he would have to withdraw from the tournament, but he decided to continue after receiving painkilling injections and reached the final before being overwhelmed by his fellow Spaniard Albert Costa.

After taking a break before this tournament to recover from a sore right shoulder, Ferrero enjoyed fine health in Paris. His only scare came in the quarterfinals, when the huge-hitting, risk-loving Fernando Gonzalez pushed him to five sets.

Verkerk, the first Dutchman to reach the French Open final, actually grew up playing on clay, although with his towering frame, coltish footwork and booming serve, it certainly looks as if he would be more comfortable on grass.

"He's still not a great athlete," Verkerk's coach, Nick Carr, said. "We're trying to make him into a great athlete. It takes time. This was his first big occasion."

Ferrero still lives and trains with Martinez, at the Villena tennis academy, about 20 miles from his hometown, Onteniente. He moved there at 14 when his mother, Rosario, was already ill with cancer. Martinez remembers him being morose and preoccupied by his mother's illness.

When she died two years after he moved to Villena, his personality became more withdrawn. But his mission remained clear: He would dedicate himself to being a professional and to honouring his mother's memory. If Ferrero is not an emotive crowd pleaser, that is partly because his mother never liked tennis players who were too exuberant. But Ferrero's ground strokes and returns are full of life, and perhaps now that he has broken through the Grand Slam barrier, he will allow himself more freedom of expression.

"I think he will now feel like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders," said Spain's Davis Cup captain, Jordi Arrese. "And I think that will help him win other Grand Slam titles in the United States or Australia. He has the game to do it."

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