The Best of the Decade - Top Male Tennis Players Part 2
Number 9 - Juan Carlos Ferrero
This spot goes to one of the best Spanish player’s we have ever had the privilege of watching on the courts, Juan Carlos Ferrero a.k.a. “Mosquito”. The player was nicknamed the Mosquito because of the speed with which he used move around the court.
Ferrero’s performance was exceptional right from the start of his professional career. The world watched in awe as the player reached the semi-finals at the 2000 French Open only a short while after turning professional. Although the player lost the match
to Gustavo Kuerten after five exhausting sets, the match etched Ferrero on the minds and hearts of everyone who had been watching. The same year the Spaniard got into the finals of two other ATP tournaments, in Dubai and Barcelona. However, 2000 was not a
lucky year for him as far as titles were concerned.
In 2001, the stage remained the same, yet this time around Ferrero beat tennis greats such as Marat Safin and Felix Mantilla to grab both titles and for the first time in his career he sailed right into the top 10 singles ratings. And later on when he went
head to head with Gustavo Kuerten, the king of clay courts, at the Rome Masters and by bagging the win he grabbed his first ever Masters series crown.
The rest of the 2001 season saw the Mosquito establishing a number of career firsts. The Spaniard made into the finals of the season finale, the ATP Championships and he reached another two finals. After having gone through an injury-infested first quarter,
the player was finally able to get his game back on his ever favourite red clay courts and he beat fellow countryman Carlos Moya, in Monte Carlo, to grab his second Masters series title. The French Open of the same year also saw some fierce Spanish action
with Ferrero playing Albert Costa.
After such a strong Grand Slam final appearance, Ferrero completely lost all his steam and struggled through the grass court season. The fans must have let out a collective sigh of relief when he finally got his act straight and that too just in time to
win his second title of the year at Hong Kong.
Ferrero at this time had been losing his confidence about his ability to play any other surface except clay. However, his season ending final finish at the ATP Championships removed all his doubts and gave his game and spirit a much needed boost.
2003 turned out to be the player’s best year, both for his superb performance and the success that came with it. He got a great start to the year and reached the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and the Roland Garros. And to add the cherry on top
of the cake of his success; he finally got lucky at the French Open and won the first Grand Slam title of his career. Of course this also turned out to be his last Slam title but that is a different story altogether.
The same year Ferrero was also fortunate enough to have successful defended his Monte Carlo title and this made his total tally of Masters Series wins to an impressive figure of 3.
Even after the massive success that the player had experienced throughout the year, Lady Luck still shone bright over his head. The players consistently superb performance throughout the Grand Slam season, especially during the US Open final, earned him
the much coveted Number 1 spot on the ATP rankings. Ferrero held this title for a good many weeks but unfortunately he could not finish the season at the same spot. He instead finished the year at the World Number 3 Spot, behind Roger Federer’s Number 2 and
Andy Roddick's Number 1.
For his phenomenal performance and achievements, he was honoured as the “National Sportsman of the Year” by King Juan Carlos.
His winless season began with 2004 and lasted a good 4 years as he left a series of final loses in his wake. It is interesting to note that despite his dismal performance, Ferrero finished three of the four seasons as a part of the top 30 and that is the
magic that was Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The year 2009 finally brought some rain to his drought-stricken career as the Spanish star finally won his first title in a long time at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The rest of the season was full of so-so performances by the Spaniard but he did manage to
end the year as part of the victorious Davis Cup team.
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