Time to go also for Juan Carlos. As per Alex Corretja’s words his retirement means ”the loss of a reference for a generation of players.”
The world no.1 will end his brilliant 14 years career to focus on his academy and hotel. Ferrero won 15 ATP titles. In 2003 he won the Roland Garros and he reached the US Open final (lost to Andy Roddick). The Spaniard won his last title in 2011 Stuttgart, then he struggled to remain on top of his tennis to slid to the 111th spot of the ATP ranking (-45 this week).
Besides the remarkable “singles” achievements in his career, Juan Carlos has always been proud about being decisive in helping Spain to win 2 of the latest 5 Davis Cups in 2000 and 2004.
”The 2000 Davis Cup is something unforgettable for all Spaniards. I was very young and little by little I realized how important it was both for me and the country,” Ferrero said. ”Winning a Grand Slam and becoming the world No. 1 are both unforgettable peaks of my career.”
”It was a complicated decision to leave a world you have lived in intensely since six or seven years old,”said Juan Carlos. ”But I have had a tough year and you start to notice that you don’t have the same ambition and motivation.”
”What I will miss most is the competition, we live for the competition. It will be difficult to fill the void in this new life I am going to begin now, but I have plenty of things to do,” Ferrero added.
Good stuff, we now hope he will contribute to create even more champions for the already thriving tennis of Spain. Good Luck!
