Points won by each set: [ 34-24, 42-41, 41-30 ]
Points won directly behind the serve:
20 % Nadal – 23 of 113
8 % Ferrero – 8 of 99
The 20-year-old Ferrero reached the French Open semifinal in 2000, and the same year he hugely contributed to Spain’s first triumph in the Davis Cup. He was called ‘King of Spain’, the bright future was opened in front of him, it seemed he’d be the best Spanish player of the decade. Three years later he won in Paris, advanced to No. 1, but suffered a downhill in 2004 – at the same time the 18-year-old Nadal appeared on the big scene, and Spring ’05 didn’t leave doubts that Nadal was a better & more perspective player. They faced each other twice: first in Valencia where Nadal destroyed his six years older compatriot (6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes), then in the Barcelona final. The Catalonian match was more balanced than the scoreline would suggest, but Nadal [11] showed better resilience in all crucial moments – he won two marathon games (six deuces at 2:1 in the 1st set & eight deuces at 3:1 in the 3rd) and came back from 1:3* in the 2nd set, easily holding at 4:5 & 5:6. During that event Nadal not only showed exceptional skills in defense beating five good opponents with relative ease, he also displayed great physical preparation because he came to Barcelona just after capturing title in Monte Carlo where he’d played two demanding matches in the last two rounds. “It isn’t normal to win so many matches. I’m well aware that a bad run could come along soon. Maybe people will start to demand more from me from now on, but I’m still the same and go on court with the same humility as ever.” said Nadal – the victory over Ferrero [58] allowed him to extend winning streak to 11 matches. A bad run didn’t come soon, Nadal won his another two tournaments (Rome, French Open) before was sensationally beaten in Halle, having won 24 consecutive matches, by a German journeyman Alexander Waske.
Nadal’s route to his 5th title:
2 Gilles Muller 6-0, 6-2
3 Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 6-2
Q Agustin Calleri 6-2, 3-0 ret.
S Radek Stepanek 7-5, 6-2
W Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3