Ferrero dashes the All-American dream
Roddick claws his way out of a two-set deficit

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

© Mark Lyons

FROM THE US OPEN – Andre Agassi doesn’t understand what an "undeserving No. 1 " is. Who really does? The only time a player would qualify under this auspice is if he has failed to win a Grand Slam, and that’s not the case with new No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, the reigning Roland Garros champ who grabbed the top dog status from Agassi when he raced past him 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the US Open semifinals.

If Andy Roddick wins this US Open, he’ll be more than deserving of the accolade America’s next great one, because he’ll will have finally survived a rough and tumble Grand Slam draw and have won an important tournament when he was supposed to.

His heart hasn’t been in question since he survived Younes El Aynaoui in a five-hour quarterfinal at the Australian Open last January, but his mental toughness was certainly in question when he was down two sets to David Nalbandian in the semis on Saturday. But even though it seemed like that Roddick would never win another point from the back court again, he never caved in and finally out-toughed the brawny Argentine 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-1, 6-3 in three-and-a-half hours.

While the entire tennis world is aware of just how good the flying Ferrero is, general sports fans aren’t quite as familiar with the deadly serious Spaniard. It was Ferrero’s first full match on Ashe Stadium during this Open and he amazingly became he first player ever to reach the top spot on the US’ center court. It was some kind of introduction.

"If you don’t win a big match on center court here, you are no one," Ferrero said. "Now everyone in the US knows who Juan Carlos Ferrero is and that he knows how to play tennis."

A STEELY CONQUEROR
Ferrero spoiled an All-American men’s final party in a big way, showing youthful legs, whizzing groundstrokes, a wicked kick server and an ability to hit with pace and depth on the big points. As quiet as a man as he usually is, Ferrero was so charged up Saturday that he showed a potentially doubting American crowd just how intense he could be. He admonished himself, pumped his fists, cheered himself on and rarely lost his steely gaze during the contest.

He played nearly perfect one-two combinations of hopping serves up toward Agassi’s teeth and finishing off Andre’s replies with rockets down the line. Eight-time Grand Slam champ Agassi’s legs were heavy, but he kept pushing at the 23-year-old Ferrero, hoping that he young Spaniard would mentally crack. But Ferrero didn’t, concentrating hard on his own service games, taking huge swipes at Agassi’s second serves and challenging the American to dash with him.

Ferrero deflated a little bit toward the end of the third set but once the fourth set started, knew he had to take out Agassi right there. Ferrero didn’t want to deal with the New York crowd in the fifth set.

Agassi was brilliant in battling off three break point at 3-3, but Ferrero immediately put him in a hole again at 0-40 and broke him when he forced a forehand error. In the match’s final game, the Spaniard had to fight off three break points himself and did so, watching Agassi miss a forehand return, ripping an inside-out forehand winner and crushing a backhand down the line. He leapt into the final when he forced Agassi into a another forehand error on the run. He dropped to his knees and became the 21st man to hold the No. 1 ranking in the Open era.

"It’s a spectacular sensation," Ferrero sad. "Inside I feel like all the work I did over my career paid off. I knew after Federer lost that I could become No. 1 and I had to do two matches to it. Plus, I’ve never played well here before and I was playing Agassi to reach the final. It all came together for me. Right now, it’s my time."

© Mark Lyons

Ferrero said that didn’t change his approach to playing well on hardcourts this year, but he’s certainly a much more confident player on cement. He brings a whole lot to the table, with a much-improved serve, a forehand that he can roll over, flatten out and slice back on the run. He forcefully slaps his backhand and as Agassi says, if you don’t have the firepower to cut him up, you are in deep trouble.

Roddick claws his way out of a two-set deficit
That’s where Roddick was against Nalbandian when he was facing a match point down 6-5 in the third set tiebreak. But he still had his nuclear weapon in his pocket and exploded a 138-mph service winner and a 136-mph ace down the middle to go ahead 7-6. Roddick committed a forehand error, but then Nalbandian did the same and at 8-7, Roddick punched away a forehand volley winner. He was no longer praying to Nalbandian, started moving his feet again, found his fearsome forehand and built his own altar.

In a tournament where two American legends retired – Pete Sampras and Michael Chang – and another, Agassi, moved a step closer to calling it quits, Roddick has a chance to take the mantle when the US tennis landscape needs him most.

Now Ferrero and Roddick will contend the most attractive Grand Slam final of the year on Sunday. Expert analyst Agassi breaks it down exquisitely.

"If you could start the point off from the baseline, it would be a very one-sided match," Agassi said. "But unfortunately, the serve is a monster factor. If you can’t return serve, you can’t win a match. Andy has that weapon in his arsenal so if he has a great serving day, it’s gonna be tough for anybody to beat him. But if he’s little off and Juan Carlos gets into some of the points, Andy’s gonna feel him."