JCF Rolls Into Casablanca Final, Passing Andreev Along The Way

Juan Carlos Ferrero pulled out a tight match against top-seed Igor Andreev. He upset the Russian 7-6(9) 6-3. The two players traded two breaks apiece in the first set, and then Ferrero was able to squeak by Andreev in the tiebreaker. There were no breaks in the second set until Ferrero broke Andreev in the eighth game. He was able to hold serve for the set and the match.

Ferrero now advances to the final against fifth-seed Florent Serra, who upset Spaniard Albert Montanes earlier. Serra leads Ferrero 2-0 in their head-to-head matchup. Their last meeting was this year on the hard surfaces of Brisbane, and the other meeting was at ‘s-Hertogenbosch on grass. This will be their first meeting on clay. For Ferrero, this will be his first final since Auckland in 2008. Should he win, it will be his first title since his 2003 ATP Masters Series Madrid title.

After his 2003 French Open win and 2003 US Open final appearance, Ferrero’s career has been plagued with injuries. It all started when Spaniard came down with the chicken pox after a trip to the 2004 Australian Open semifinals. After being off the tour for two months, he fell during practice injuring his rib and wrist in May 2003. From there his year was shot, and he went from being ranked world number 2 to world number 31. In the years 2005-2007, he played more consistently and was able to end each year ranked somewhere within the top twenty-five.

For 2008, the last half of the year was marred with injuries (muscles, leg, and shoulder), which caused him to sit out most of the late summer. Ferrero retired from a second-round Wimbledon match and missed Toronto, Cincinnati and the US Open. This year, he sat out two months after suffering a leg injury in Argentina. His ranking has suffered since he has not consistently played in the last calendar year, and he is now ranked 115.

Tomorrow’s final appearance will move the Spaniard within the top 100, and a win will move his ranking to the 70s range. Win or lose tomorrow, let’s hope he is able to play consistently for the rest of the year.

(Image: El Khiat)