HAMBURG, Germany -- Eighth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tennis Masters
Series Hamburg, beating Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-4, 6-3 Thursday for his 14th
consecutive victory.
Ferrero is seeking his third straight title after winning at
Rome and Barcelona. He also is trying to become the first player in
nearly 30 years to win back-to-back clay-court Masters events at
Rome and Hamburg. The last player to achieve that was Spain's
Manuel Orantes in 1972.
Ferrero will play Thomas Johansson in the quarterfinals. Johansson rallied to beat No. 14 seed Jan-Michael Gambill 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Ferrero was worried earlier in the week that he would be unable
to maintain his consistency.
On Sunday, Ferrero beat world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten for the
Italian Open title in a grueling five-set match. Two days later, he
overcame a sluggish start to defeat two-time French Open champion
Sergi Bruguera.
On Thursday, Ferrero appeared fresh and fit.
"It's 14 matches but I'm not tired anymore," Ferrero said.
"My hardest match was in the opening round because it was against
Bruguera and he's tough and it was right after my final in Rome.
"But yesterday I was OK and today I feel good."
Ferrero has won four titles this season, three on clay, and with
a glittering 20-1 record on clay, he is one of the top contenders
for the French Open title.
Gambill's defeat leaves the tournament with just two seeds
remaining -- Ferrero and No. 7
Lleyton Hewitt.
A series of errors from Johansson allowed Gambill
to sew up the opening set on the covered Centre Court at the
Rothenbaum Tennis Centre as torrential rainfall, thunder and
lightning caused havoc on the outside courts.
But the American's concentration wavered in a match which
failed to ignite to allow Johansson to set up a quarterfinal
with Ferrero.
Hewitt of Australia needed five set points to defeat compatriot Andrew Ilie
on Thursday and reach the quarterfinals.
Hewitt, seeking his seventh career title, beat Ilie 6-2, 7-6
(2). Ferrero, fresh off winning the Tennis Masters Series Rome, defeated Lapentti
6-4, 6-3.
Up 5-2 in the second set, Hewitt allowed Ilie back in the match to force the
tiebreaker. The flashy Ilie was pumping his fists and indulging in
other theatrics as he nailed a succession of winning shots.
"I didn't play too many bad points, but he came up with some
great shots on match points," Hewitt said. "Normally you expect a
shot, but he came up with something totally unexpected.
"He's a showman. He went on a roll for 10 or 15 minutes. I just
had to stay patient and weather the storm. I knew I'd get up
again."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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