Former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero retires after loss

Valencia, Spain (4E Sports) – Former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain has retired from professional tennis after losing to compatriot Nicolas Almagro, 7-5, 6-3, Tuesday in the first round of the Valencia Open 500.

“Thank you so much for having come to watch my final match and for all the support you gave me during my career,” said the 32-year-old Ferrero, who won 16 singles titles, including the 2003 French Open.

Ferrero, who also reached the 2002 French Open final and 2003 US Open final, announced in September that the tournament will be his last.

Ferrero was also part of the Spanish Davis Cup team that won in 2000 against Australia and 2004 against the United States.

In other matches, top seed and two-time former champion David Ferrer won his sixth straight meeting against Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus, 7-5, 7-5, in two hours and 14 minutes.

American Sam Querrey defeated Feliciano Lopez of Spain, 6-3, 7-6(4), in 81 minutes while Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Filippo Volandri of Italy, 6-3, 7-6(5) in 75 minutes.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer battled past Carlos Berlocq of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3, in one hour and 51 minutes by converting five of his 13 break point chances.

Belgium’s Xavier Malisse was granted a second-round berth when second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with lower back pain while trailing 3-1 in the first set.

Meanwhile, sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny converted five of his seven break point opportunities to beat Australian Bernard Tomic, 6-0, 6-2, Tuesday in the first round of the Swiss Indoors Basel.

Tomic’s compatriot, Matthew Ebden, fared better, when he defeated Romanian lucky loser Victor Hanescu 6-3, 7-6(3) in 88 minutes.

American Brian Baker struggled past Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in two hours and 38 minutes while Swiss wild card Marco Chiudinelli beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours and 41 minutes.

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