The Observer A great player is emerging, but you may not be seeing him at this year's Wimbledon.
Tennis is on the brink of change, on and off court.
Even Tim Henman now believes that Wimbledon should relinquish the grass-adjusted seedings it has made ever since 1927, while Ferrero's emphatic progress suggests he has suddenly become a Grand Slam contender. Today he has the chance to be the first man to win Hamburg and Rome in the same year since his compatriot Manuel Orantes in 1972. There was never any doubt yesterday, even against a fellow Davis Cup hero, that Ferrero would deliver a devastating victory. His ground strokes created such a special combination of great pace and dazzling angles from both wings that Costa was left with no hope of containment without taking risks. To be as great as Agassi or Sampras he has to be good mentally.