Monday, June 21, 2004



Juan Carlos Ferrero won in straight sets in the first round at
Wimbledon today. But the sixth seed was flattered by the 6-4, 7-6, 6-
3 scoreline against battling Frenchman Julien Boutter.

Ferrero looked fit and well as he took a one set advantage against
Boutter. The Spaniard missed four weeks off the tour suffering from
chicken pox in March before sustaining wrist and rib injuries while
practising for Hamburg last month.

But he was clearly in a determined mood against the Frenchman as he
fought to maintain his record of never having lost a first-round
match at The Championships.

Court Two was buzzing following the victory of 47-year-old Martina
Navratilova immediately before Ferrero and Boutter stepped on court.
And the crowd was treated to a much more competitive encounter as
the pair traded ground strokes before Ferrero got the break in the
seventh game and then sealed the lead.

But Boutter, who had lost in all his previous first-round
appearances, would not go away quietly and he held a 4-3 advantage
in the second set when rain stopped play.

It was the same story upon the resumption of play with Boutter
determined to show he could grind it out with the 2003 French Open
champion. But Ferrero, following an early mini-break, squeezed
further ahead after Boutter had forced a tie-break.

The Spaniard finally put a difficult opponent to the sword in the
third set.

And after his health problems he was relieved to take his first step
towards at least emulating his best performance at The
Championships, which was a run to the last 16 last year.

Written by Mike Donovan


Wimbledon Official Website: http://www.wimbledon.org