2011 Heineken Open: Top seed David Ferrer moves into final to recapture title
2007 champion David Ferrer moved into the final of the 2011 Heineken Open in Auckland after doing away with unseeded Santiago Giraldo in their semifinal match on Friday. A top seed in the main draw, Ferrer along with twenty-seven other players was participating at the Heineken Open in Auckland this week.
Playing his first event of the season, Ferrer ranked 7th in the world occupied the first seed position earning himself an automatic bye into the second round. Meeting Tobias Kamke in the second round, Ferrer bounced back from one set down to prevail 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4. Moving into the quarterfinals, Ferrer played eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. After a hard fought battle between the two, going into the three sets, Ferrer eventually ousted the former Auckland champion 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.
Finishing last year in the Top 10, Ferrer had been part of the elite eight-man field at the season finale event in London though he failed to make it past the round robin stage. He clinched two titles for the year winning them at the Valencia Open 500 and at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
Meeting him in the semis was the only unseeded player to remain, Colombian ace Santiago Giraldo. Coming from a quarterfinal run at the 2011 Brisbane International, Giraldo was in full form and found his spot in the semis as he toppled seeds. Defeating Daniel Gimeno-Traver in their opening clash at this event, Giraldo moved ahead to play fourth seed Albert Montanes in the second round. Upsetting the Spaniard in a hard fought three setter, Giraldo moved ahead registering 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 for the match. In his quarterfinal match, Giraldo upset yet another seed Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets to setup his semifinal clash with Ferrer.
Meeting for the first time on the courts, Ferrer was quick to take the lead in the pair’s career head-to-head doing away with the Colombian in only 74 minutes.
Dominating the first set, Ferrer clinched a 6-3 victory in only 25 minutes. Moving into the second, Giraldo put up some resistance though Ferrer was determined to dismiss him quickly. After a neck-to-neck run between the two, Ferrer was eventually able to secure a 7-5 victory and move into his second final at the event.
Committing no double faults, Ferrer struck four aces and lost only eighteen of fifty-eight points on service, to move past the Colombian and secure a spot for himself in the finals.
Winning the match, Ferrer said, "I played very well, maybe my best match this week."
Ferrer moves into the final to meet David Nalbandian with the hopes of winning his second Heineken Open title, something that the Spaniard termed as “very special”.
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