Ferrero’s brutal revenge brings end to Costa reign

SPANISH third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero gained brutal revenge on Friday to end the reign of defending champion Albert Costa, winning a tense semi-final 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to reach the French Open men’s singles final.

Costa had deprived Ferrero of a first Grand Slam trophy in landing his own here in the final 12 months ago but this time the 23-year-old Ferrero made no mistake, winning in 2hr 44min.

The slender star will now meet unseeded surprise package Martin Verkerk, who shocked Argentine seventh seed Guillermo Coria 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) in 2hr 40min.