Hewitt: ¡°Thank you, Juan Carlos!¡±    
  22-2-2004 | 20:13 
  Although he had promised to practise his Dutch, Lleyton Hewitt ended up speaking in English.

¡°First and foremost I¡¯d like to thank Juan Carlos. He has played excellent tennis all week, and had to fight his way through several tough matches. To top it all, he played another fantastic match today. It was a tough contest, and he refused to budge an inch. Thank you, Juan Carlos!¡±

¡°I would also like to thank Richard Krajicek. Several of my fellow-players had already told me this was a fantastic tournament, and it is. Richard Krajicek has done his best for Dutch tennis, and he has done everything possible to make the tournament a success.¡±

¡°I additionally want to thank my coach Roger Rasheed for everything he¡¯s done. We¡¯ve played a few great doubles matches together, but above all he has been a fantastic coach.¡±

¡°The crowd was fantastic and I take my cap off to them. Although most tournaments attract plenty of visitors, they tend to prefer the semifinals or final. Ahoy¡¯ was also busy on Monday afternoon. It was fantastic to experience.¡±
 
 
Ferrero: ¡°One set too many¡±     
  22-2-2004 | 20:33 
  The 31st ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament lasted a little too long for Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Spaniard, who will rank second in the world as of tomorrow morning, had the better opportunities during the second set. He had two breakpoints during the seventh game, but failed to use them.

¡°Lleyton fought like a lion, and appeared to be incredibly fit. He seemed to be wherever I played the ball. Admittedly, he has played fewer sets this tournament. I had two opportunities, but missed one by hitting a stray forehand and the other by hitting the ball in the net.¡± Ferrero was disappointed, but not dejected: ¡°I have played several great matches here, and was nearly knocked out of the tournament. Maybe it was simply one set too many.¡± ¡°Lleyton Hewitt is playing well. He previously ranked first in the world, and he¡¯s on his way back. I feel fully-recovered, and intend to play in Marseille next week, so that I can gain additional indoor experience.¡¯¡¯