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Ferrero inconsolable after defeat

By Bill Barclay in Paris
May 28, 2004 14:45 IST
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Depressed and in pain, Juan Carlos Ferrero surveyed his wrecked French Open title defence with the air of a broken man on Thursday.

Ferrero lost 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to unseeded Russian Igor Andreev in the second round after succumbing to his various injuries and a lively opponent with nothing to lose.

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"People keep saying cheer up, you'll get over it...but it's difficult," said the 24-year-old, who has developed a stomach strain to go with his bruised ribs. He has also been suffering from a wrist injury.

"Everyone has a bad year and it looks like this is a bad year," he added.

"The ribs were okay but in the first set I felt some stomach cramps and I couldn't move so well. It's one thing after another.

"It was difficult to stay in the match with two injuries. It's very difficult to defend your title when you are not 100 percent fit.

"He played a very good match, he's got a lot of talent...but I couldn't play my best tennis today. Maybe because I didn't feel so good physically. I couldn't get to the balls quickly enough."

The mood of Andreev, who is based in the Spanish city of Valencia and said he once did fitness training with Ferrero two years ago, could hardly have been more different.

"It feels unbelievable," beamed the 20-year-old who had never won a Grand Slam match before at Roland Garros. At one stage in the match Andreev won 17 points in a row as Ferrero's morale disintegrated.

"All of my dreams have come true -- on the centre court, against the guy who won it last year. It's an unbelievable feeling.

"I just tried to play my game and it went well. I don't know how to explain it. I came here with nothing to lose. I just played my game and forgot about the result."

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Bill Barclay in Paris
Source: REUTERS
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