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4/7/09 2:36 AM | Ricky Dimon
Juan Carlos Ferrero and Christophe Rochus will do battle on Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Prix Hassan II. A spot in the second round is at stake.
It will be the third career encounter between Juan Carlos Ferrero and Christophe Rochus when the two veterans meet on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Grand Prix Hassan II. Ferrero leads the head-to-head series 2-0, but they not faced each other since 2003. Both of their previous meetings came on clay, Ferrero's favorite surface.
No surface, however, has been extremely kind to Ferrero of late. The 2003 French Open champion and former No. 1 player in the world is down to 115th in the world rankings, mostly due to physical problems. Ferrero has continued to struggle this season, going 1-3 in matches during the early hard-court swing. But when he moved to clay he posted to quarterfinal showings; first in Costa Do Sauipe and then in Buenos Aires. He has not played since retiring to David Nalbandian in Buenos Aires back in mid-February.
One year Ferrero's elder at 29, Rochus is a solid 61st in the world after a solid start to his 2009 campaign. During a stretch in February, the 5'7'' Belgian reached the quarterfinals in Memphis and the semifinals in Delray Beach. Since then, however, Rochus has lost in the first round of four straight tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, and two Challenger events).
While Rochus is solid on clay, his Spanish counterpart is capable (when healthy) of being outstanding on the slow stuff. Ferrero even ended Rafael Nadal's clay-court winning streak last spring in Rome, although a Nadal blister was probably more of a factor than Ferrero. If "the Mosquito" is 100 percent physically, he should be able to take out the seventh-seeded Rochus. But that is a big "if." As a result, Rochus in three sets is the pick.
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hope he does well.......other spaniards like verdasco,ferrer,lopez,robredo nd especially rafa would want him to turn things around......has emense talent...great forehand...hope his injuries dont plague him ever again now.....
vrael , 4/7/09 11:02 AM
He did it! Next victim - Starace.
Rafterfan , 4/7/09 5:12 PM
Vamos
RickyDimon , 4/7/09 5:52 PM
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Christophe Rochus
Grand Prix Hassan II
remi, Mar 17, 2010 2:16 AM
tanna, Mar 17, 2010 1:50 AM
smr, Mar 17, 2010 12:11 AM
Sib69, Mar 17, 2010 12:08 AM
jonir, Mar 16, 2010 9:49 PM
remi, Mar 17, 2010 2:20 AM
chr18, Mar 17, 2010 12:40 AM
tj600, Mar 17, 2010 12:35 AM
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Go Little Mosquito! Hopefully he'll turn it around this year.
Rafterfan , 4/7/09 3:41 AM