[Leo7]

... in the Men's Power Rankings for the week of September 30th, 2002!

Men's Power Rankings

SportsLine.com's Power Rankings feature 10 players based on the past weeks' performances. It is not an official ranking based on points but takes into account the strength of schedule and the quality of play of each player during that period.

Rank Player Previous
1 Juan Carlos Ferrero -
Spain's Ferrero captured his second title this year in Hong Kong, on hard court. He won in Monte Carlo on clay in April. He showed that Spaniards can win on every surface. He is now fourth in the ATP Champion Race.
2 Fernando Gonzalez -
Chile's Gonzalez won the Sicily International Championships, in Palerme, Italy. That's his second win this year, after Vina del Mar, Chile in February. Both wins came on clay.
3 Carlos Moya -
Spain's Moya lost to Ferrero in the final of the Salem Open in Hong Kong. He had also lost to Ferrero in the final in Monte Carlo.
4 Jose Acasuso 8
Argentina's Acasuso lost to Gonzalez in Palerme, Italy. He is a great player on clay but has played only four events on another surface this year, the Australian Open, Miami, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. He won only one match, in Melbourne.
5 Jerome Golmard -
France's Golmard, whose career has been plagued with injuries, reached the semifinals in Hong Kong where he lost to eventual winner Ferrero. That's his best result since his final in Auckland, New Zealand, in January.
6 Jonas Bjorkman -
Sweden's Bjorkman lost to Moya in the semifinals in Hong Kong. He is 18-20 this season, and had won only three matches on hard court since the Australian Open entering the Salem Open.
7 Bohdan Ulihrach -
Czech's Ulihrach lost to Gonzalez in the semis in Sicily, which is his best result this year. He had played another semifinal in Doha, Qatar, back in Januray.
8 Marcelo Rios -
Chile's Rios, with a wild card and the No. 1 seed, lost to Acasuso in the semifinals in Palerme. That was his third semifinal this year, the first on one clay. He's been more successful on hard courts, reaching the semis in Miami and Washington, DC.
9 Feliciano Lopez -
Spain's Lopez lost to Bjorkman in the quarterfinals in Kong Kong, which is a good performance for him this year, but who wouldn't give him a spot in the rankings, if he hadn't defeated Russia's Marat Safin in the 2nd round.
10 Pete Sampras -
Sampras has not been seen on the Tour since his win at the U.S. Open, but he will remain in the rankings until he loses.

can't wait to see Ferrero's name back at #1 after he wins his 2nd straight title in Tokyo!

 

[Leo7]

TR.NET TOP 10 MEN: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Juan Carlos moves up to king of the hill

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Juan Carlos Ferrero
1. Juan Carlos Ferrero: Trying to make up for falling flat on his face in the Roland Garros final in the spring, Ferrero captured his seventh career title in Hong Kong last week. Ferrero's efforts prove he has the talent to perform well on all types of surfaces since Hong Kong became his second career success on hard courts. But can Ferrero keep his head when he's in pressure situations where he's the favorite as was the case at Roland Garros when he lost the final to Albert Costa?

2. Fernando Gonzalez: His forehand is an ominous presence on the other side of the court and more-and-more players are finding that out. Gonzalez won his second title of the year – third of his career – at the Palermo tournament last week. His victory moves him into a career high ranking of No. 20 and to the distinction of being Chile's top-rated star, displacing Marcelo Rios from the honor. If Gonzalez can keep the momentum going, there's no telling what he can achieve.

3. Carlos Moya: Back in 1999 and 2000, the '98 Roland Garros champion appeared to be a tennis goner courtesy of a serious back injury. Lady luck brought recovery and in 2002, Moya has scooped up four titles at Acalpulco, Bastad, Umag and Cincinnati. Unfortunately, his luck against Ferrero continues to be slim as he lost to the fellow Spaniard at Hong Kong for the sixth time in eight career meetings.

4. Jose Acususo: One of the many Argentines on tour these days, Acususo was named ATP Player of the month in September for his final showing at Bucharest a few weeks ago and then at Palermo last week. That's good enough for honors on this week's Top 10 list.

5. Jonas Bjorkman: The Swede had all but turned into a doubles only kind of guy, but this year he's resurrected his singles play with some fine showings. A semifinalist at Hong Kong last week, he won his first title since 1998 Nottingham this June at Nottingham.

Marcelo Rios
6. Marcelo Rios: Once No. 1 in the world, Rios has slipped back to No. 2 in Chile this week when Gonzalez displaced him from the leading man role. Plagued by injuries for a few years, Rios is trying to regain his Top 10 stature, but the climb back has been rocky.

7. Jerome Golmard: This Frenchman did not represent his country in the recent Davis Cup semifinal, but he did France proud by reaching the Palermo semifinal, upsetting fifth seed Juan Ignacio Chela on the way.

8. Bohdan Ulihrach: Ulihrach, who made it to the Palermo quarterfinals, has been on tour since 1992 and every year he manages to still be playing on the weekend at a few events.

9. Fernando Lopez: The Spaniard not only reached the Hong Kong quarterfinals, but he upended last week's Davis Cup hero Marat Safin in the second round. He makes the Top 10 cut for exposing Safin's vulnerability of fatiguing too fast for a young guy and his inability to keep a consistent pace on a week in-week out basis.

10. Juan Ignacio Chela: Coming off a disappointing Davis Cup semifinal round against Russia, Chela chugged his way to the quarterfinals at Hong Kong before taking his leave. That's a better result than Safin posted for the week's matches.

 

[Scotso]

Juan Carlos kicks ass

 

[TennisHack]

Let's not mention that RG final again, okay? :fiery:

 

[Leo7]

agree with you on that one, Hackie! :fiery: