Juan Carlos Ferrero Lauded By Moya

Written by: Staff on 25th October 2012

Juan Carlos Ferrero Lauded By Moya

epa03445171 Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero poses with a present during his farewell ceremony after ending his professional 14-year-career during the Valencia's tennis tournament in Valencia, eastern Spain, 24 October 2012. EPA/BIEL ALINO |

Two men who came to fame in the summer of 2003 have now packed it in in singles, with Andy Roddick retiring after the US Open and the man whom he beat in the final, Juan Carlos Ferrero, calling it quits after he lost in the first round of his hometown tournament in Valencia on Tuesday.

Ferrero, who won Roland Garros in 2003 and rose to No. 1 at the US Open by virtue of knocking off former champions Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi before he fell to Roddick, seriously struggled with injury and illness after that summer, especially a bout with the chicken pox that left him substantially weaker.

Carlos Moya, whom Ferrero would dethrone as the Spanish No. 1, fondly recalled the first time he faced Ferrero on Barcelona when the Valencian was still a teenager.

” I was number two in the world and won after almost three hours, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, but I had no doubt that he would be great in the near future and I would play for major titles against him,” Moya said. “I saw a very complete player, very fast and with few mistakes. His backhand down the line was devastating. After a meteoric rise, there was no doubt that he had the potential to win Grand Slam tournaments, and not just Roland Garros since his tennis was perfectly suited to all kinds of surfaces, embodying the modern Spanish player who can succeed in big hard court tournaments.”

Ferrero works at the Valencia tournament and also owns an academy and a hotel.

Moya also sees Ferrero as a future Davis Cup captain.

“For the public he will always be remembered as the hero who with his backhand down the line got the point with which Spain won the first Davis Cup history,” Moya said. “I’ll wait impatiently for our next battle, this time on the senior tour, because knowing his competitive nature and winning, I do not doubt he’ll miss the adrenaline that you only get from the competition.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sports, Tennis News, valencia open 500