Juan Carlos Ferrero's struggle for form continued at the Marseille Open on Tuesday where the former world number stumbled in straight sets in the first round against Joachim Johansson.The third-seeded Swede, winner in Adelaide last month, dismissed the Spaniard 7-6, 6-3.
After a 2004 season marred by health problems, Ferrero is not faring much better this year, having only won two matches since the season resumed.
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Currently ranked 63rd in the ATP entry rankings, the former French Open champion lost in the Australian Open third round to Argentina's Guillermo Coria, the top seed in Marseille."It was a tight match with a tie-break that could have gone either way. I'm glad I managed to impose my pace on a player who likes to dictate play," said Johansson, who is nearing his goal of a top 10 ranking, being 11th at present.
Far sharper than Ferrero, Johansson, who only narrowly lost to Andre Agassi [Images] in Melbourne, broke the Spaniard twice in the second set to set up a second round clash with French qualifier Gilles Simon.
Simon beat former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
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