2011 Heineken Open: David Ferrer sets up final showdown with David Nalbandian
The last day of the 2011 Heineken Open is here and time has come to witness as to who will be crowned as the champion. In a seeded battle, top seed David Ferrer takes on the sixth seeded Argentinean David Nalbandian today. The Heineken Open is an ATP 250 series event played annually in Auckland.
Playing his first event of 2011, Ferrer was seeded first in the event being the highest ranked player in the draw. After receiving an automatic bye into the second round, Ferrer played his opening match against Tobias Kamke. Bouncing back from being one set down, Ferrer saved himself from the blushes and ultimately prevailed 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4.
Moving ahead in the event, Ferrer played eighth seed Philipp Petzschner. In a seeded battle between the two, Ferrer defeated the 2008 champion. Winning the first set 6-3, the Spaniard lost the next set in a tiebreaker. However, bouncing back in the decider and following suit of the opener, Ferrer secured a 6-3 victory.
Ferrer then moved into the semis to meet Colombian Santiago Giraldo, who was the only unseeded player left in the event and had moved ahead toppling seeds. However, the hard-hitting Spaniard dominated the courts and defeated Giraldo in straight sets. The score line was 6-3, 7-5.
Ranked 7th in the world, Ferrer finished 2010 with two title wins and an appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. However, pitted against the likes of Roger Federer and Andy Murray, Ferrer failed to make it past the round robin stage.
Ferrer will face Argentina's number one David Nalbandian in the final on January 16. Ranked 27th in the world, Nalbandian finished 2010 with only one title win, winning it at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington. Like Ferrer, Nalbandian also kicked off his 2011 run at this event; however, unlike the Spaniard, Nalbandian has sailed into the finals without losing a set.
Moving past Fabio Fognini, Philipp Petzschner and ousting defending champion John Isner, Nalbandian setup a semi-final clash with second seed Nicolas Almagro. In what turned out to be a comfortable victory, Nalbandian defeated Almagro in straight sets registering 6-4, 6-2 for the event.
Before playing Ferrer in the final, Nalbandian said, “Always when we play together it’s a very tough match. Long ones, long rallies. It’s going to be the same as the rest of the matches we’ve played before. I have to keep playing my way, my level, and try to win.”
Ferrer on the other acknowledged the competition and said, “I need to have a good percentage with my first serve because he returns really good. If I don’t serve good, I will have a lot of problems because Nalbandian is a very aggressive player.”
Though Nalbandian is ranked much lower than the Spaniard is, he only trails the head-to-head by one match. Having last met at the Rogers Cup in 2010 for the eleventh time on the courts, the pair sported a 6-5 head-to-head score leaning in Ferrer’s favour. However, it must be noted that the Argentinean enjoys a 3-match winning streak over the Spaniard. Will Ferrer be able to extend his winning streak at Auckland tomorrow or will the ranking disparity come into play for the Spaniard’s favour? Only time will tell.
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