David Ferrer conquers Nicolas Almagro to lift title – Skistar Swedish Open 2012
In the final battle between the top two stars, David Ferrer took down his second seeded compatriot, Nicolas Almagro, in straight sets at the Skistar Swedish Open 2012 on Sunday. He juggled up a 6-2, 6-2 victory against the world number 10 to conquer his
fifth year-to-date title at this outdoor clay court tournament taking place in Bastad, Sweden.
The top seeded Spaniard is enjoying his best career season after conquering his fifth title of the season, summing up a total of 16 titles. He displayed top notch performance to outrun his fellow citizen in their 11th battle against each other.
As a result, Ferrer not only improved to an 11-0 record in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the 26-year-old but also bagged 250 South African Airways ATP Ranking points.
“It has been the best season of my career, I have won five titles," the Spanish number two stated in a courtside interview. "I have never done this well and I am very happy for that. I work hard, I always fight every match and every year I try and improve
on my game.
Ferrer convincingly entered the Bastad dirt and plucked his opening serve with poise. He continued hitting powerful forehands and reeled off the last four games in a row to click the opener with a 6-2 win.
The world number five, Ferrer maintained his intensity in the follow-up set and earned the desiderated break in the second game to leap to a 3-0 lead. He held his remaining serves with conviction and cashed in another break chance in the last game, subsequently
sealing the set by winning six games to two.
All in all, the 30-year-old clobbered a better first serve share of 72 per cent as compared to his rival’s 51 per cent and tremendously marked 30 out of 42 points on it.
Ferrer has now improved to a 51-9 win-loss record this season and has won more matches than anyone else on the tour.
“Last year I played really good tennis," Ferrer was quoted further. "I am a better player than in 2007 when I won here. I work to improve my game. I don’t work to be in the Top 4. I work to be a better player and nothing else.”
Almagro, the 2010 conqueror, fell to a 12-6 record in the final showdowns of ATP events. He also lost to Ferrer in the title-round of the Copa Claro in February.
Tags: