2011 BNP Paribas Open: ATP Seeds Part VI
World Number 6 David Ferrer
Sixth seed David Ferrer is the second of three Spanish players in the Top Ten Pros on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings. As World Number six, he receives a bye in the first round of the 2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells.
Coached by Javier Piles, the right-handed player has been playing tennis on a professional level since 2000. He is 28 years old, making him one of the oldest players to be so highly ranked.
Ferrer has been making consistent appearances at the Indian Wells event since 2003, stacking up eight showings at the California tournament. His first two showings came in 2003 and 2004, when he was World Number 50 and World Number 67 respectively. They
were not at all indicative of his immense talent. The player was ousted in the first round both times, suffering losses against Xavier Malisse and Alex Corretja.
David Ferrer’s best run at the tournament came in 2007, when he was ranked World Number 15. As is tradition, he received a bye in the first round and proceeded directly to his first match against World Number 72 Luis Horna. The Spaniard defeated his Peruvian
opponent in straight sets, proceeding to the next round against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, who was then World Number 100. Ferrer scored another straight-sets victory, and set up a match against compatriot and World Number 36 Carlos Moya. His three-sets victory
at the match helped him to reach the quarterfinals, where current World Number three Novak Djokovic ended his run in easy straight sets.
The Spanish player competed in the 2009 BNP Paribas Open as World Number 12. He received another bye in the first round, and moved to the second round against Todd Widom of USA. Widom was World Number 232 at the time, and Ferrer defeated him in straight
sets to make it to the next round. Here, he met French pro Hyung-Taik Lee, who was ranked World Number 48 at the time. The player made it past this round in a tough three-set match to reach the round of the last 16 against America’s Andy Roddick. Roddick ended
Ferrer’s run at the event in three sets.
Last year was an even bigger disappointment for Ferrer, who took part in the 2010 Indian Wells tournament as World Number 16. After receiving a bye in the first round, he was upset by American James Blake in straights sets in his first match at the tournament.
Ferrer has performed well so far this year, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and winning the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title just weeks ago. If he remains in form, he may be able to repeat his 2007 performance and make it to the quarterfinals
at Indian Wells once again.
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