Who will win US Open 2011? – Part Three: David Ferrer
Continuing with our US Open champion series here, we next take a look at the “prince of clay” (Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal being the King), David Ferrer. Ranked fifth in the world, Ferrer has recently made himself into an unstoppable force that which can go to toe-to-toe with the titans of tennis and still survive to tell the tale.
A phenomenon on clay, second to none but Rafa, Ferrer is no piece of cake on hard courts either. Sporting an acceptable 14-4, Ferrer started the year clinching a title win on hard courts. Playing in the season opener at Auckland, the 2011 Heineken Open; Ferrer enjoyed a successful final when he defeated Argentine David Nalbandian to clinch his ninth career title.
What followed next was his career best at a Grand Slam event as he put in a semi-final appearance at the Grand Slam Down Under in Melbourne. Doing away with a under-the-weather Nadal in the quarterfinals, Ferrer made it to the semis, before losing to eventual runner up, Andy Murray. This was the Spaniard’s career best at any event. Previously he had achieved this once before when he made it to the semi-final of the 2007 US Open, losing to eventual runner up Novak Djokovic.
His run of good luck at the hard courts faltered for a while as he suffered back-to-back early round exits at the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament (Rotterdam) and the 2011 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) losing to Jarkko Nieminen and Ivo Karlovic respectively. However, once more rising for the top, Ferrer put in another semi-final appearance at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami losing to the now top ranked American, Mardy Fish in straight sets. Returing to hard courts after Wimbledon, Ferrer was absent from Montreal and only had a third round loss to show for Cincinnati.
Despite his “so-so” performance on hard courts this year, Ferrer has what it takes to upset the big names of tennis. Although he sports a 4-6 head-to-head record against Djokovic, he has no win on hard courts against him. However, the psychological edge of having defeated the juggernaut of 2011, on any surface, may just carry him past the Serb should he be pitted against him. Similarly, Ferrer although holds three wins to three defeats against Brit Andy Murray, he has yet to defeat the Scot on the hard surface.
Against his higher ranked compatriot, Ferrer boasts of a level head-to-head score on the surface. With six meetings in seven years, the score stands at a level 3-3 with the most recent win going to Ferrer as he enjoyed a straight-sets win over Rafa. Swiss maestro Roger Federer, is the only potential opponent that Ferrer has never bested, be it the hard courts or the red clay surface.
Coming to Flushing Meadows, Ferrer is playing in his ninth year here with a 15-8 career win loss mark. Debuting in 2003, Ferrer struggled in the early rounds for the first few years. He finally made it big with a semi-final appearance in 2007. However, this was his first and to-date his last appearance further than the fourth round. In 2010, Ferrer was ousted in the fourth round after an intense five set battle with compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
Although Ferrer may not be a strong candidate for the championship as he lacks the affinity for hard courts that he has for the clay. Nevertheless, the world number six is no pushover. Given the proper footing, Ferrer may upset one or all of the top ranked pros to make a debut final appearance at a Grand Slam event.
The series continues here, as we take a look at some of the other potential champions, analyzing Robin Soderling in http://www.senore.com/Who-will-win-US-Open-2011-Part-Four-Robin-Soderling-a94931.
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