Ferrero through to meet Costa in Hamburg

Ossian Shine

Juan Carlos Ferrero swept aside Thomas Johansson 6-2 6-2 at the Hamburg Masters on Friday to set up an all-Spanish semifinal with Albert Costa.

Costa earlier thrashed France's Fabrice Santoro 6-1 6-2 in the first quarter-final of the day.

Ferrero is aiming to become the first player to win the Rome and Hamburg tournaments in the same season for 29 years but the physical strain of the feat is beginning to show.

The 21-year-old Spaniard called the ATP trainer on court at 5-2 in the first set to massage his left thigh during a change-over.

Ferrero's frail physique has taken a pounding in the last few weeks and Friday's victory was his 15th consecutive win on clay.

His successes on clay this year -- he has already won titles in Estoril, Barcelona and Rome -- may take their toll in nine days time when the French Open gets underway. But Ferrero knows only one way to play -- at top speed.

NO ANSWERS
He tore through the opening set, peppering the Swede's lines with whipped groundstrokes and bullet serves.

Johansson, who before this tournament had won just one match in 13 attempts at clay-court Masters events, had no answers.

His weapons proved inadequate throughout and Ferrero wrapped up the second set with little bother.

"I am feeling in good form ... playing well and feeling pretty strong," Ferrero said afterwards.

If he succeeds in Hamburg it will be a third clay-court tournament win from his last three tournaments and his fifth tournament win overall this season.

Costa, champion here in 1998, played an almost perfect clay-court game against Santoro, pounding his opponent with heavy, deep groundstrokes and well-disguised, delicate drop shots.

Santoro's unorthodox double-handed dinked forehands and chopped backhands, which proved so effective in beating Andre Agassi earlier in the week, failed to dent Costa's armour.

The Spaniard raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set before Santoro finally got on the scoreboard, the Frenchman lifting his arms in triumph at the win of that game.

IRRESISTIBLE TENNIS
Costa immediately broke back, though, to win the set and kill off any thoughts of a comeback.

The Spanish world number 53 was putting on a show for the Centre Court crowd at the Rothenbaum Tennis Centre and raced into a 5-0 seed in the second set, too, with irresistible tennis.

The Frenchman, ranked one place above Costa, saved two match points at 5-0 down, one with an audacious lob volley, and held the game with an ace before again raising his arms in triumph and grinning at the crowd.

Buoyed by the German crowd's enthusiastic support, Santoro broke Costa in what was rapidly turning into a carnival atmosphere but the Spaniard snuffed out the festivities in the next game to clinch victory.

"I was just playing my game and it was working really, really well," Costa said afterwards.

"I didn't know what to expect beforehand but I played a great game."

Costa beat Santoro here in 1998 in the quarter-finals and went on to lift the trophy.

In Friday's other quarter-finals, Albert Portas plays Alberto Martin in an all-Spanish match and seventh seed Lleyton Hewitt tackles Argentine baseliner Franco Squillari.