2 Responses to rome01ferrero_kuerten

1. Voo de Mar says:

   October 6, 2022 at 6:03 pm

   Points won by each set: | 18-30, 26-17, 27-36, 37-27, 26-14 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   22 % Ferrero – 26 of 117
   23 % Kuerten – 33 of 141

   The second most important clay-court tournament and the two best players on that surface at the time, met in the final. Ferrero [9] began it below expectations trailing 1:5* (30/40), but once he got his first break, he settled down and his persistent ground-strokes off both wings started to dominate over Kuerten’s [1] versatile game-style. Even though the Spaniard lost the 3rd set by a four-game difference, he wasted break points in Guga’s three service games. The only break of the 4th set came at 3-all when Kuerten shanked his backhand at 30/40. After the 3-hour 4-minute final at the Italian Open, Ferrero had won 17 out of his 18 matches on clay that year – he improved the record to 22 out of 23 before losing an amazing ‘Masters 1K’ final in Hamburg – playing 12 matches within 14 days it was too much to handle for him, and he was beaten in Germany despite an overwhelming advantage over his inferior compatriot. “With Kuerten it’s difficult to win in straight sets,” the 21-year-old Ferrero said. “When he started strong I told myself, ‘don’t worry, you have time’. This tournament does give me more confidence going into Roland Garros.” The loss ended an 11-match winning streak for Kuerten, who triumphed in Monte Carlo earlier that year. “He made me run a lot,” acknowledged the Brazilian after the Rome final, “When you play a guy like Ferrero for five sets, for sure you don’t finish as well as you start.” Nevertheless when they met at Roland Garros a month later, Kuerten produced a quite surprising revenge winning convincingly in three sets…

   Ferrero’s route to his 5th title:
   1 Sjeng Schalken 6-3, 7-5
   2 Marcelo Rios 6-1, 6-3
   3 Julien Boutter 6-3, 6-2
   Q Wayne Ferreira 6-0, 6-2
   S Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-3
   W Gustavo Kuerten 3-6, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   May 2, 2023 at 11:54 pm

   Kuerten was the most successful player at the Italian Open on the turn of centuries: semifinal ’98, champion ’99, runner-up ’00-01

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