David Ferrer survives scare against Nicolas Almagro to reach semis – Australian Open 2013
In an all-Spanish affair, David Ferrer made a superb comeback to outmuscle his 10th seeded compatriot, Nicolas Almagro, in a five-set thriller at the Australian Open 2013 on Tuesday. He nudged up a 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory against the
27-year-old to power into the final four at this first Grand Slam events taking place in Melbourne, Australia.
Seeded fourth at this major hard court event, Ferrer displayed top class performance despite making a dismal start. He picked his game in the end of the third set and carried his momentum, eventually stealing the show in three hours and 44 minutes. After
bagging this match, Ferrer improved to 13-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series against his fellow citizen.
The Spanish number two was quoted in a courtside interview after triumphing over Almagro:
"I tried to fight every point, every game. I know all players in important moments are nervous. I try to do my best. Today I was close to losing. But finally I came back. I always try to do my best, to fight a lot. If I am to lose, I would like to lose fighting.
I never give up."
The lower seed high-spiritedly entered the Rod Laver Arena. He smoothly slid his entire serves with poise. Almagro got the breakthrough in the seventh game and eventually sealed the opener with a 6-4 win.
Currently ranked 11th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Almagro carried his rhythm in the proceeding set. He got the coveted break in the fifth game and kept his entire serves, ultimately clicking the set with a 6-4 success.
Ferrer changed his strategy in the third set. He suffered an early blow and went 3-5 down. However, the higher ranked Spaniard stroke out the last four games and clinched the set with a 7-5 score line.
In the fourth set, both players exchanged several serve breaks and took it to a tie-breaker. Ferrer lifted his game in it before grabbing the equaliser with 7-6(4) win.
The world number five went berserk in the deciding set. After Almagro held his serve in the third game, the 30-year-old unleashed barrage of groundstrokes and subsequently bagged the decider with a 6-2 success.
"I'm [disappointed] with the tie-break, but I need to work more to be ready to play with the top players," Almagro stated after losing to the higher seed. "Today was a big opportunity for me. I'm going to work to be ready for the next [opportunity]."
Up next for Ferrer is the conqueror of the match between world number one Novak Djokovic and fifth seeded Tomas Berdych.
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