2011 Heineken Open: World number seven David Ferrer clinches title at Auckland, moves up the ranking
At the event played just ahead of the Australian Open, world number seven, David Ferrer, hit top form in Auckland, recapturing the Heineken Open title. The Spaniard was the top seed at the event this week.
Putting in five final runs in 2010, Ferrer finished last year with two title wins. Defeating compatriot Marcel Granollers, Ferrer captured the home title at the Valencia Open 500. He also won the title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel
after a hard fought battle with Juan Carlos Ferrero. He also made it to the finals of the Beijing event, the Buenos Aires event and the Rome Masters.
Not having participated at any of the season opening events on account of injury, a recovered Ferrer started his 2011 ATP Tour at the Heineken Open. Being the top seed at the event, Ferrer received an automatic bye into the second
round where he opened against Tobias Kamke. Surviving a first set upset, Ferrer bounced back in the second set to prevail 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 with seven aces and only one double fault.
Ferrer moved into the quarterfinals where he was pitted against another past champion, 2008 titlist Philipp Kohlschreiber. Seeded eighth in the event, Kohlschreiber put up much resistance and was only defeated after a hard fought
three-setter. With the loss of the second set in tiebreaker, Ferrer eventually prevailed 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.
He moved into the semis to meet Santiago Giraldo, the only unseeded player who had toppled two seeds in the event so far. However, the higher ranked Spaniard dismissed the Colombian in straight sets to move into his second final
at Auckland.
Meeting Ferrer in the final was number one Argentinean, David Nalbandian. Seeded sixth in the event, Nalbandian had moved past Fabio Fognini, Philipp Petzschner, ousted defending champion John Isner and upset second seed Nicolas
Almagro without dropping a single set.
This was the pair’s twelfth meeting on the court with the head-to-head score being 6-5 in the Spaniard’s favour. Looking to extend his lead, Ferrer rushed to a straight set victory, snapping Nalbandian’s three-match winning streak
and clinching his tenth career title since turning pro in 2000.
Winning the toss, Nalbandian wished to receive first. Opening serve, Ferrer clinched the first game and continued as such till seven games registering 4-3 on the scoreboard. Serving in the eighth game, Nalbandian trailed 30-40
and after a long rally between the two, the Argentinean overshot a back hand and lost; now trailing 3-5 in the set. Winning the ninth game on his service, Ferrer secured a 6-3 victory.
Coming into the second set, the pair played the longest game of the match with two deuces. However, Nalbandian served a brilliant ace to go 1-0 in the lead. The two continued to win on service for the next three games, keeping
the score tied. Breaking Nalbandian’s service in the fifth game, Ferrer secured a 3-2 lead. Winning the next two games at 40-0, Ferrer extended his lead. Serving in the final game, Ferrer clinched a 6-2 victory after Nalbandian committed an unforced error.
In a match that lasted only sixty eight minutes, Ferrer served two aces and lost only 16 of 56 points on service to recapture the title. In addition to praising his opponent after the match, Ferrer said, "I would like to congratulate
David for this week because he was injured for a lot of time last year. I think he's coming into the top 10 soon. I would like to thank all the people who have supported me through the week. This time It's very special for me, I won [the Open] in 2007, but
four years more I am more older and have won again, so this is special. I will come back for sure next year and try to win again."
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