yikes...bad bad result
ok, onto MC
btw, here's an interview that Lisa found, done just before his Rafa match in Valencia. I've translated it for you guys. The original Spanish article can be found here:
http://servicios.lasprovincias.es/v.../noticias/Deportes/200504/06/VAL-DEP-255.html
Juan Carlos Ferrero: lots of flatterers have vanished off the face of the earth during the bad times
The Valencian assures he's come out of the tunnel and is confident of getting back to where he was before. Nevertheless, he hasn't forgotten the many flatterers who "disappeared off the face of the earth" during the bad times.
What's your mental state like going into the Open?
I'm very strong mentally because I played pretty well in Miami. I feel confident. In any case, it's the first clay tournament and it's going to be very tough.
Do you see yourself fighting for the title or do you have to take it step by step?
You have to take it step by step, even more so with the first round that I've got because Nadal is a tough opponent.
What could happen today?
It also depends on how he is. I imagine he's physically tired and weary but Rafa is very strong and he recovers well. He's already done the South American circuit, where he played matches on clay and I don't think playing now on hard courts will have changed anything.
Did you see the end of the tunnel in Key Biscayne?
I've been out of the tunnel for a while. That was all last year and in 3 tournaments I've brought myself to 68. Little by little, I'm getting up there, until I get a tournament which goes above everything. It'll probably come now during the clay season.
How would you explain your decline to people after being number 1?
It's very easy. Not playing for 5 months, all the time losing all the points I had won, and not being able to defend the 1000 points at Roland Garros. It's simple.
After basically being a title contender in all tournaments, what's it like to lose early in them all now?
It's new to me. Now I'm a bit like I was when I was starting out, rising in the rankings. Until now, I had never gone down in the rankings, I was always in the Top 10 and now it's new ground for me. It's a different challenge and you have to confront it enthusiastically.
Will we ever see the best version of Ferrero again?
I think so. I don't think that, when you go down once, you have to stay there forever. I'm the same as before and I have the same level but, I mean, at the moment, I'm very behind, I play against seeds in the early rounds and you have to get through these rounds to try and get points.
Did you think about taking a few months off? How did it affect you emotionally?
Emotionally it's very hard to come back, but maybe I didn't drop because of playing badly, but because of everything that happened with chickenpox and the rib injury. They're inconveniences that you don't expect to encounter, but at the same time you also can't just jump over them because they come unexpectedly. You have to try and accept it and start from scratch like I've done.
Have the flatterers disappeared now in this period of lean years?
Many of them, yes, lots of people disappeared during the bad times. But everyone that loves me stayed with me. Although this isn't something that just happened to me, that always happens to tennis players who go up and then go down.
Who did you lean on in those tough times?
Well, my family, people that love me and work with me, my friends...
Businesswise, as owner of the Open, you must be satisfied. It's made a qualitative jump.
Good. Yesterday (Monday), lots of people came. Today we noticed a bit that some people had to go to work and every year we improve.
Which players could win?
The title could remain at home, by that I mean a Spanish player could win it. I would find it weird if a foreigner won it because it's the first (clay) tournament and the Spaniards always adapt a lot better.
Was it you who did negotiations directly with Kuerten so that he could come back in Valencia?
Yes.
How did it come about that he could play the Open?
He wanted to start during the clay season and this tournament suited him a lot, because to start off in Monte-Carlo without playing any matches beforehand is a bit tough. I spoke to him and he told me he'd come.
Do you think that he'll get back to where he was too?
If he recovers well, yes. The thing is, the injury is quite complex. It doesn't allow him to move freely. But if he's physically like he was before, of course. One never loses their tennis.
He, as compensation, he asked you to play an charity match in Brazil...
Yes, we're using it as an exchange.
You don't hesitate to participate in those kind of charity events...
No, of course not, why would I hesitate.
What alternatives do you see to Federer's supremacy?
He's a player that forces all of us to raise our level to beat him. I played against him recently in Dubai and I had my chances, but he's very confident, he plays well on all surfaces and it's very hard to beat him.
Will he be #1 for years?
Well, he obviously won't be able to defend the points he wins for ever and maybe when he loses in a tournament where he's defending a lot of points, maybe people will be able to catch him.
Was it necessary to tighten the reigns that much on the Tennis Club?
Some things happened and if it happened, it was because it was necessary. Soon we'll be alright again. They're things that happen between businesses, that everyone doesn't always agree on some things.
Are you all satisfied or not totally?
Now we're fine, after talking about it all, we're like we were before.
Is it sometimes necessary to be strong and put your foot down, like what's been done recently with the Valencia Tennis Club, the Spanish Federation elections, the G3 and the G2...?
There are times when people get on top of you and you have to put your foot down and say: I'm here! That's what we've done.
Were you hurt by not playing in the Davis Cup final?
Obviously I was really looking forward to playing. Because of the atmosphere, what it is, because of everything...but in the end I didn't play because of a hand problem, not because they took me out of the team. Nadal then played very well and won the rubber, and everything turned out well.
Can you win another "Salad bowl"?
Yes, why not, our team is pretty young and very strong.
Does Ferrero have a successor in the Valencia province?
I hope not yet. I've still got a few years left.
I refer to the future, if other alternatives exist.
I hope so. There are younger players, like Dani Gimeno, and others who are making their way up. David Ferrer is also a bit younger. I hope valuable players come from the Valencia province and that they rise in the rankings.
The Ferrero business is growing fast.
Yes. You have to do things gradually so I have things when I retire.
Do you invest according to advice you're given, or based on your own decisions?
With people in the know and who advise me the best.
The next thing is a luxury hotel in Bocairent.
It was a property I bought where, at first, we didn't know what to do. Then this idea came up. We'll do everything there, even wedding banquets.
Yours too?
No, no (laughs). It's still too soon.