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Juan Carlos Ferrero goes through
the customs after arriving in Beijing for China Open on September 11,
2004. (Agencies) |
Spanish tennis stars Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos
Ferrero head into the 500,000-dollar China Open this week
hoping to stage late-season recoveries after disappointing showings at the US Open.
The former Roland Garros champions head the 32-man field at the
inaugural edition of the tournament, with Moya taking the top seeding
followed by Ferrero, who is trying to shake
off yet another injury problem.
Moya reached the third round last week in New York at the season's
final Grand Slam before being surprised by Belgian pocket rocket Olivier
Rochus over five sets.
Ferrero tumbled out in the second round at Flushing Meadows after a
four-hour, second-set battle with Austrian Stefan Koubek.
The Spaniard's fragile fitness -- he began this season exhausted after
losing the 2003 Davis Cup final and then missed a month with chicken pox -- began to tell in New York.
Ferrero has dropped out of the ranking top 10 as a result and admitted
he is troubled again by physical problems in his left leg and
groin.
The Spaniard will have benefited from a few days' rest prior to flying
to China, where the tournament will launch after being postponed in 2003
due to the SARS outbreak.
 Ferrero admits his 2004 has been a disaster: "I'm not happy with
my year. But it's almost finished and I just want to forget it."
Second seed Moya can be more optimistic, with three titles this season
and a 54-14 match record. He opens play in Beijing against a qualifier. He
and Ferrero met for the title in 2002 in Hong Kong, with Ferrero earning
the win.
Argentine third seed David Nalbandian is also hoping to improve his
late season after taking only one win at the Open. He will get his chance
in China against Dane Kristian Pless in the first round.
Fourth seed Rainer Schuettler, number five Russian Marat Safin and Thai
crowd favourite Paradorn Srichaphan could also use a kick-start as the
autumn run of Asian tournaments begins.
Schuettler, who finished last season in the top 10, has faded in 2004,
now down to 12th after reaching the eight-man season final last November.
Safin, this year's Australian open finalist, put in a weak New York
performance, never getting out of the blocks in an opening loss to Swede
Thomas Enqvist.
The volatile Russian opens
play against Russian-American Alex Bogomolov.
Paradorn will need to be at his best this month, with Beijing, a Davis
Cup in Moscow and his home Thailand Open all looming over the next three
weeks.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-09-13 09:54