Juan Carlos Ferrero

Color me sad today. Word comes from TENNIS.com's ticker that Juan Carlos Ferrero is contemplating retirement at the end of this season: Juan Carlos Ferrero says Marat Safin's impending retirement has prompted him to think along the same lines. "The motivation is not there after 11 years," said Ferrero, adding that he will make a decision at the end of the year about whether to play for another season. The former French Open champ, currently ranked No. 115, returned to the tour in Casablanca this week after an abductor problem kept him sidelined during March. Ferrero is 29, the same age as Safin. Ferrero ... Read Full Story

Juan Carlos Ferrero lost 7-5 7-6 to Igor Kunitsyn in the first round of the Barcelona Open. Ferrero faced some powerful hitting from the Russian and was broken in the opening game. After losing the first set, Ferrero rallied to take a 3-0 lead at the start of the second but Kunitsyn hit back and took the tiebreak 7-3 with his fourth ace. Nicolas Almagro lost the opening set 3-6 in his match against Victor Hanescu but fought back to win the second and went through when the Romanian retired injured with the score at 2-2 in the third. Igor Andreev beat Andreas Seppi ... Read Full Story

Also on Sunday, (another former world #1) Juan Carlos Ferrero won his 1st tournament title since 2003. He defeated Florent Serra of France 6-4, 7-5 at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Prior to this, the last title Ferrero won was the Madrid Masters (October 2003). That year he also won his only Grand Slam, the French Open. Noteworthy: This is the only claycourt title that Ferrero has won since winning Roland Garros (French Open) in 2003. During that same year he made it to the U.S. Open final where he lost to Andy Roddick. Read Full Story

Q. Tell us your reaction to the way the match ended there. JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I had to. I mean, I start horrible, the match. I don't know why, because I wake up normally and I warm up well. So I went to the court, you know, to be ready in the first point, but I wasn't. Second set I had to recover and start to think to play a little bit different, because I was doing a lot of mistakes all the time, no putting first serves in. So I have to change my mind a little bit and focus in the things ... Read Full Story

Q. You must be very pleased. Another excellent performance. JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, of course. I'm very happy about the match 'cause, you know, the beginning was a little bit tough to get his rhythm. You know, I think he played very solid at the beginning with no mistakes. And he was everywhere, because I think he was running very well on grass. But then, since I get his rhythm, I think I start to play a little bit better. And, you know, after winning the first set, I think I played very well match. Q. What was the key for you? Obviously served ... Read Full Story