David Ferrer, champion who? (part 4)
At the start of this year’s Australian Open, David Ferrer himself would not have expected to be in the semi final. He would have hoped and wished of course, but the pragmatist in him would’ve seen a defeat to Rafael Nadal coming.
However, that was not the case. In a surprising turn of events, David Ferrer defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Injury issues for Nadal aside, it was a brilliantly played match by the 28 year old veteran. And whatever the cause, the win has forced pundits to re-evaluate their predictions for the Australian Open 2011.
Ferrer is currently world no.7 and is seeded at the same rank in the tournament. He has been as high as no.4 in the world rankings, and has won 10 tournaments to date.
He does not have a grand slam or year-end championship trophy to his name, but he has reached the semi-finals of the 2007 US Open and the final of the year-end championship in 2007 at Shanghai.
Ferrer is a typical Spanish player, preferring to play his game from the baseline. He is quick and persistent, and this gives him excellent retrieving skills.
His inside-out forehand is a definite weapon, and his backhand is no mean stroke either. His shots are not particularly powerful, but he makes up for that with his speed. Physically super fit, he is almost always able to outlast opponents in the trenches.
2010 was one of the best years of Ferrer’s career. He won two tournaments and got the final of three more. He also got to the year-end championships ahead of fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
His showing in all the Grand Slams was dismal, as he never even got to the semis. His first win came at Acapulo, Mexico, against compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero. One of his losses in a final also came at the hands of Ferrero, in the tournament prior to Acapulo,
at Buenos Aires.
The other win came at the Valencia 500, where he was seeded 2nd. He also made it to the final of the Rome Masters, beating Andy Murray along the way. However, he was dispatched by Rafael Nadal in the final.
His last final appearance was in Beijing at the China Open. This was against Novak Djokovic, who defeated him in straight sets.
After losing all his matches at the year-end championships, Ferrer raised his game immensely in 2011. He won his first tournament of the year, the Heineken Open, living up to his billing as the first seed.
His Australian Open campaign has also been steady, the highlight being his recent win over Nadal.
Facing Andy Murray in the semis, Ferrer will have to play his best against a fully fit opponent. His chances of winning the Australian Open 2011 and the chances of the other three players shall be discussed in the next article.
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