David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...
player. A three-time
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the orga ...
champion with
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organisa ...
(
ATP 250
The ATP 250 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 250'' tournaments, ''ATP International Series'', and ''ATP World Series'') are the lowest tier of annual men's tennis tournaments on the main ATP Tour, after the four Grand Slam tou ...
,
ATP 500
The ATP 500 tournaments (previously known as the ''ATP World Tour 500'' tournaments, '' ATP International Series Gold'', and ''ATP Championship Series'') are the fourth highest tier of annual men's tennis tournament after the four Grand Slam tou ...
,
Masters 1000) except at a
major, and currently has the seventh highest career prize money earnings of all time among male tennis players (not adjusting for inflation). Ferrer also holds the distinction of winning the most matches on the ATP Tour without having won a major, passing
Brian Gottfried who held this record for 32 years.Ferrer turned professional in 2000 and was regarded as a
clay-court
A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral construction aggregate, aggregate dependin ...
specialist in his early career, winning 13 of his 27 titles on the surface. However, he has had significant success on all surfaces, having reached the final of the
2013 French Open (without losing a set), the semifinals of the
Australian and
US Opens twice each, and the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon twice. Ferrer was part of the Spanish Davis Cup team that won the title in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, and
2011. He won the
2012 Paris Masters, and was runner-up at six other Masters tournaments as well as the
2007 Tennis Masters Cup. He is widely considered one of the best players not to have won a Grand Slam tournament. He first achieved a top-10 ranking in 2006 and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 in July 2013. He retired in 2019, competing for the last time at his home tournament of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
.
Career
1999–2001: Turning pro and first Challenger title
Ferrer was born in
Xàbia in the
province of Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the Valencian Community. It is the second most populated Valencian province. Likewise, the second and third biggest cities in the Valencian Community (Alica ...
, but he moved to
Gandia at age thirteen, followed two years later by a move to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
to attend the Catalan Tennis Federation.
Once, as a teenager, when Ferrer did not practice hard enough, his coach, Javier Piles, locked him in a completely dark 2m x 2m ball closet for several hours, giving him only a piece of bread and a bit of water. After this incident he was fed up with tennis and went to work at a construction site, but after a week he returned to Piles and asked if he could remain at the club and play tennis. Piles continued to coach Ferrer until they parted ways at the end of 2013. Ferrer has said he considers Piles to be like a second father to him.
Ferrer turned professional in 2000, finishing as world no. 419, winning in Poland F1 and Spain F3, finishing runner-up in Spain F1. 2001 was not a particularly good year for him. He won his first career
Challenger title in Sopot and reached the semifinals at
Manerbio. He also reached the semifinals in Spain F15 and Spain F16.
2002–2003: First title, victory over world No.1
In 2002, he played consistently in ATP (10–6) and Challenger (35–13) tournaments, winning his first ATP title in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...
(defeated
José Acasuso) and reaching his first ATP final in just his second ATP event in
Umag
Umag (; it, Umago) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia.
Geography
It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia.
Population
Umag has a population of 7,281, with a total municipal populatio ...
(defeated
David Nalbandian and
Guillermo Coria, lost to
Carlos Moyá). He won Challenger titles in Naples, Valencia, and Sassuolo. All 10 ATP match wins and 34 of 35 Challenger wins came on clay.
The highlight of 2003 was Ferrer's victory against
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...
at the
Rome Masters
The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
. He made his debut at all four
Grand Slam tournaments, as well as six
ATP Masters Series events. In Rome, he upset the defending champion Agassi in the first round and lost to
Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubičić (; born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singles ranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching a Grand ...
in the second round. Ferrer advanced to the second round at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
and
Wimbledon. He reached his third career final in Sopot and lost to
Guillermo Coria. In doubles, he reached his first career final in
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...
with
Fernando Vicente. He compiled a 13–16 record on clay courts, 6–10 on hard, 1–1 on grass, and had a year-ending ranking of world no. 71.
2004–2005: First Grand Slam quarterfinal, top 15
In 2004, Ferrer reached the quarterfinals in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
,
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, and at the ATP Masters Series
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
(defeated no. 6
David Nalbandian, lost to
Guillermo Coria). He advanced to the semifinals in
Stuttgart (lost to
Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Norberto Gaudio (; born 9 December 1978) is an Argentine retired tennis player. He won eight singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 5 in April 2005. Gaudio's most significant title win came at the 2004 ...
). Later in the year he advanced to the quarterfinals in Bucharest and the semifinals in Palermo (lost to
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
) and Lyon (defeated
Juan Carlos Ferrero, lost to
Xavier Malisse). He ended the year with a ranking of world no. 49.
In 2005, Ferrer advanced to the semifinals in Miami by defeating
David Nalbandian,
Juan Carlos Ferrero, and
Dominik Hrbatý, but lost to
Rafael Nadal. He closed the year with a quarterfinal showing in Madrid, where he defeated Puerta, but lost to
Robby Ginepri, and Paris, where he lost to
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
. He lost only once in the first round of nine Masters Series events, while compiling a 20–9 record. In doubles, Ferrer won his first two ATP titles in Viña del Mar and Acapulco (with Ventura) and earned a career-high US$951,772. He finished the year with a ranking of world no. 14.
2006–2007: World Tour Finals final, top 5
Ferrer opened the year with a quarterfinal showing in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, where he lost to
Olivier Rochus. He broke into the top 10 ATP rankings for the first time, following a personal-best fourth-round showing at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, where he defeated
Mario Ančić, but lost to
Fabrice Santoro. He was in the top 10 for five weeks during the year. Then, playing in the first round of a
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the orga ...
tie versus
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, he went 2–3 indoors, losing to
Vladimir Voltchkov in the second rubber. In March, he reached the semifinals in Miami for a second straight year, where he defeated no. 4
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
, but lost to
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. In his second clay-court tournament of the year in Monte-Carlo, he lost to Federer. He also advanced to the quarterfinals at the Masters Series Hamburg, falling to eventual champion
Tommy Robredo. In Düsseldorf, he posted wins over two top-10 players, world no. 4
Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubičić (; born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singles ranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching a Grand ...
and world no. 9
Fernando González
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
. He reached the third round at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
and a career-best fourth round at
Wimbledon, where he defeated González in the third round, but lost to
Lleyton Hewitt. In July, he won a second career ATP title in a five-hour final in
Stuttgart. He came back from two sets to one and a 1–5 deficit against Acasuso, saving one match point down 4–5 in the fourth set. In August, he reached the quarterfinals in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
, where he defeated no. 10
Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to González, followed by a third-round showing at New Haven, where he lost to
Agustín Calleri. At the
US Open, he reached the third round for the second consecutive year, but lost to
Mikhail Youzhny. Ferrer closed the year by reaching the quarterfinals in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...
, where he lost to Federer. For the year, he went 3–5 versus top-10 opponents and compiled records of 18–8 on clay and 17–13 on hard court. He finished the year ranked world no. 14 and in the top 15 for the second consecutive year.
Ferrer began the year by winning Auckland, defeating
Tommy Robredo in the final. At the
2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.
The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competit ...
, he defeated
Kristian Pless,
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson (; born 24 March 1975) is a Swedish retired professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 7 singles ranking on 10 May 2002. His career highlights ...
, and
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 100 ...
, and lost in the fourth round to
Mardy Fish in five sets. One month later, he reached the quarterfinals at
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. He had quarterfinal finishes at Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo and reached the fourth round in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
, the semifinals in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
, and the quarterfinals in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
.
At the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
, he was stopped by
Fernando Verdasco in the third round. At
Wimbledon, he was eliminated by Frenchman
Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round.
In July, he captured his second title of the year and fourth of his career, beating
Nicolás Almagro in the final of the
Swedish Open
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
in
Båstad
Båstad () is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably more than twice as large be ...
. He then advanced to the quarterfinals in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...
, defeating
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
in the third round. At the
US Open, he was seeded 15th and knocked out 24th-seeded
David Nalbandian in the third round, and then upset second-seeded compatriot
Rafael Nadal in the fourth round in four sets. He beat 20th-seeded
Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarterfinals and reached his first
Grand Slam semifinal, where he was defeated by third seed
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. His performance at the US Open brought his ranking up to world no. 8. Then, Ferrer captured his third title of the year in Tokyo, defeating
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in the final. At the
Paris Masters, he made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to
David Nalbandian.
Ferrer qualified as the sixth seed for the year-ending
Tennis Masters Cup. To begin, Ferrer upset third seed Djokovic in his first
round-robin match, and then defeated second seed
Rafael Nadal. He sealed his qualification for the knock-out stage by defeating eighth seed
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
. He was the only man to have a perfect record in the round-robin stage and had the best win/loss set record (6–1). Ferrer next defeated fifth seed
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
in the semifinals. In the final, Ferrer lost to top seed
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. He ended the year with a career-high ranking of world no. 5.
2008–2009: Two consecutive Davis Cup titles
Ferrer opened 2008 with a quarterfinal loss to unseeded
Julien Benneteau of France in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, where Ferrer was top seed. He reached the second week of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, however, as the fifth seed, without dropping a set in the first three rounds. He then went on to defeat 22nd seed
Juan Carlos Ferrero in four sets in the fourth round, before falling to third seed and eventual champion
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in the quarterfinals. On 25 February, Ferrer became world no. 4, despite losing in the second round in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
.
On 20 April, he captured his first ATP title of the year, and the sixth in his career, when he defeated
Nicolás Almagro in the final of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
. He saved three match points against
Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals, and in the final, won the definitive set when he went down 5–2 in the third set, with two break points for Almagro. Ferrer arrived at the quarterfinals in the
Monte Carlo Masters, losing against the eventual tournament champion
Rafael Nadal, despite having five set points in the second set. In
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
the following week, Ferrer reached the final, after defeating
Nicolás Lapentti, sixth seed
Tommy Robredo, and fourteenth seed
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
. He again lost to Nadal in the final. Ferrer made it to the quarterfinals of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
, matching his previous best appearance in 2005. In his first two rounds, he defeated
Steve Darcis and
Fabrice Santoro. He then prevailed in two five-set matches over
Lleyton Hewitt and
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 100 ...
in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. He eventually fell to local favorite
Gaël Monfils in four sets.
Ferrer then began his grass-court season with another title at
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
in the Netherlands. He defeated Croatian
Mario Ančić and
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...
Juan Martín del Potro en route to the final, where he won in straight sets over Frenchman
Marc Gicquel. This was his seventh career title and the first on grass. With this win, he became the second Spaniard (after Nadal) to win a grass-court tournament after a 36-year drought. At
Wimbledon, Ferrer was seeded fifth. In the first round, he defeated
Sergiy Stakhovsky, who forfeited the match while down in sets 2–0 and up 3–1 in the third set. In the second round, Ferrer defeated Russian
Igor Andreev
Igor Valeryevich Andreev (russian: link=no, И́горь Вале́рьевич Андре́ев, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles ...
in four sets. He was then eliminated by Ančić in the third round in four sets.
Representing Spain at the
2008 Summer Olympics, Ferrer was eliminated by
Janko Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarević ( sr-cyr, Јанко Типсаревић, ; born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian former tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. In his career, he won 4 ATP World Tour titles, one AT ...
in the first round. At the
US Open, Ferrer reached the third round as the fourth seed, where he lost
Kei Nishikori, ranked 126, in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Ferrer saved five match points before losing the match. Seeded first at the
China Open in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, Ferrer was defeated by Israeli
Dudi Sela in the second round 3–6, 3–6. Following a first-round bye, sixth-seeded Ferrer lost in the second round of the
Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:
*Madrid Open (tennis)
The Madrid Open ( es, Masters de Madrid, link=no), currently sponsored by Mutua Madrileña and known as the Mutua Madrid Open, is a joint men's and women's professional ...
to fellow Spaniard
Feliciano López 4–6, 6–7.
Ferrer began his
Season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
at the
Heineken Open losing to
Sam Querrey in the semifinals. At the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, he was upset by
Marin Čilić in the third round. He then bounced back with a semifinal showing at the
SA Tennis Open
The SA Tennis Open was a professional men's tennis tournament in South Africa that ran for three years from 2009 to 2011.
The tournament was played on outdoor hard courts, each February at Montecasino in Johannesburg. It started as a Grand Prix t ...
falling to
Jérémy Chardy after dominating the first set, in a tightly contested second and third set. He reached his first final of the year at the
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...
, losing to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in straight sets. However, he bounced back defeating
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in a Davis Cup tie. At the Masters 1000
BNP Paribas Open
The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
and
Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
, he was able to reach the fourth round, losing to
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
and
Juan Martín del Potro, respectively.
In the clay season, Ferrer played his first event at the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. After cruising through the first two rounds, he was routed by
Fernando Verdasco. He rebounded by reaching the final of the
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
The Barcelona Open (currently sponsored by Banc Sabadell) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event has been held in Barcelona, Spain every year from 1953 (except for its cancellation in 2020), and is played on clay c ...
, losing to
Rafael Nadal in the final. However, the Spaniard suffered early loses at the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia,
Estoril Open, and
Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The Madrid Open ( es, Masters de Madrid, link=no), currently sponsored by Mutua Madrileña and known as the Mutua Madrid Open, is a joint men's and women's professional tennis tournament, held in Madrid, during early May. The Clay courts, clay-co ...
. At the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
, he fell to surprise finalist
Robin Söderling in the third round. He played his Wimbledon warm-up at the
Ordina Open and was upset by compatriot
Iván Navarro in the quarterfinals. At
Wimbledon, Ferrer suffered another third-round loss in a Grand Slam, this time falling to Czech
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 100 ...
in five sets.
Ferrer then came back to clay at the
International German Open, where he was able to reach his fifth semifinal of the year, but lost to Russian
Nikolay Davydenko. However, the Spaniard had an abysmal US Open Series, losing in the third round of
2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
The 2009 Cincinnati Masters (also known as the '' Western & Southern Financial Group Masters'' and '' Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open'' for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 108 ...
and in the second round of the
Rogers Cup and the
US Open. He then suffered back-to-back first-round loses at the
Proton Malaysian Open and
China Open, losing to
Mikhail Youzhny and
Fernando González
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
. He also fell to eventual semifinalist
Feliciano López in the second round of the
Shanghai ATP Masters 1000. He was the defending champion at the
Valencia Open 500, but withdrew prior to his second-round match against compatriot
Albert Montañés due to a hamstring injury. He then helped Spain capture the Davis Cup title, when he defeated
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 100 ...
in five sets.
2010: First Masters final
Ferrer lost in the second round of the
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year.
In the singles competi ...
to
Marcos Baghdatis, after winning the first two sets, in a match lasting just over four hours.
Ferrer's next tournament was the
SA Tennis Open
The SA Tennis Open was a professional men's tennis tournament in South Africa that ran for three years from 2009 to 2011.
The tournament was played on outdoor hard courts, each February at Montecasino in Johannesburg. It started as a Grand Prix t ...
. In the first round, he defeated
Karol Beck
Karol Beck (born 3 April 1982) is a male former tennis player from Slovakia, who turned professional in 2001. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 36, achieved in August 2005. Beck reached the fourth round of the 2004 US Open and the qu ...
. In the second round, he beat
Filip Prpic, and then won his quarterfinal against
Somdev Devvarman. However, in the semifinals, he lost to
Stéphane Robert. Ferrer's next tournament was the
Copa Telmex
The ATP Buenos Aires ( es, Abierto de Buenos Aires, ) originally known as the Argentina International Championships and established in 1927 is an annual tennis event for male tennis players held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tournament is an A ...
, where he was the top seed. He beat
Simon Greul in the first round, and then defeated
Frederico Gil in the second round. Ferrer then defeated
Igor Andreev
Igor Valeryevich Andreev (russian: link=no, И́горь Вале́рьевич Андре́ев, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles ...
in the quarterfinals and went on to defeat
Albert Montañés. However, in the final, he fell to
Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 17th edition of the men's tournament (10th for the women) of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, and was part of the 500 series of the 2010 ATP World To ...
, where he was the third seed. In the first round, he defeated
Potito Starace and then defeated
Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. He defeated
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is an inactive Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna.
He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking o ...
in the third round. In the semifinals, he defeated
Fernando González
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
. In the final, he avenged his previous defeat by
Juan Carlos Ferrero for his eighth career title. This was Ferrero's third straight final and also ended Ferrero's 14-match winning streak. His ranking also rose to no. 16. In the first round of the
2010 Davis Cup
The 2010 Davis Cup (also known as the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas for sponsorship purposes) was the 99th edition of the most important annual tournament among national teams in men's tennis worldwide. In the dramatic final, Serbia defeated Fra ...
, Ferrer defeated
Marco Chiudinelli and then
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
to advance Spain to the quarterfinals of the
2010 Davis Cup
The 2010 Davis Cup (also known as the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas for sponsorship purposes) was the 99th edition of the most important annual tournament among national teams in men's tennis worldwide. In the dramatic final, Serbia defeated Fra ...
, where they faced France. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 37th edition of the men's event (22nd for the women), known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour ...
. He was the 13th seed, which gave him a bye into the second round. In the second round, he was defeated by
James Blake. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open (also known as the 2010 Miami Masters), was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tenni ...
, where he was seeded 15th. In his second-round match, he defeated
Michaël Llodra, and then defeated
Ivo Karlović. However, in the fourth round, he was defeated by
Rafael Nadal.
Ferrer then entered the European clay-court swing. His first tournament was the
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a men's tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from 10 April through 18 April 2010, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 104th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which is s ...
, where he was seeded 11th. In the first round, he defeated qualifier
Peter Luczak, and then defeated
Andrey Golubev in the second round. He defeated
Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubičić (; born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singles ranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching a Grand ...
in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Ch ...
to advance to the semifinals, where he was again defeated by Nadal. Next, Ferrer participated in the
2010 Torneo Godo
The 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (also known as the ''Torneo Godó'') was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 58th edition of the event known this year as the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, and was part of the A ...
, where he was seeded eighth. He had a first-round bye and defeated
Marcel Granollers in the second round. In the third round, he crushed
Simone Bolelli before Bolelli retired with a wrist injury, and then defeated
Thomaz Bellucci in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he played
Fernando Verdasco. Ferrer was leading Verdasco, 7–6, 4–2, before ultimately losing. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Rome Masters
The 2010 Italian Open (also known as the 2010 Rome Masters and sponsored title 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia) was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event ...
, where he was seeded 13th. In the first round, Ferrer defeated
Evgeny Korolev
Evgeny Evgenyevich Korolev ( rus, Евге́ний Евге́ньевич Королёв; born 14 February 1988) is a retired Russian tennis player and the cousin of former Russian player Anna Kournikova. He began playing tennis at age four ...
, and in the second round, he defeated
Potito Starace. In the third round, he defeated world no. 5
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
, and then in the quarterfinals, he defeated world no. 10
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He faced world no. 9
Fernando Verdasco for a spot in his first Masters 1000 event final. Ferrer ultimately succumbed to
Rafael Nadal in the final. Due to his fantastic run in Rome, his ranking increased to world no. 12. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid Masters (also known as the ''Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open'' for sponsorship reasons) was played on outdoor clay courts at the Caja Mágica, Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from May 7–16. It was the ...
, where he was seeded ninth. In the first round, he defeated
Jérémy Chardy and defeated
Marcos Baghdatis after fending off a match point. He then defeated
Marin Čilić to advance to the quarterfinals. There, he, for the second successive time, beat world no. 4
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
. In the semifinals, Ferrer lost to world no. 1
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
in three sets. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 French Open, where he entered as a favorite. He began his campaign with a victory over French wildcard
David Guez
David Guez (born 8 December 1982) is a French tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 116 in July 2010.
Career
At the 2009 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon he won with Rajeev Ram and reached to the second round, where ...
, and then defeated
Xavier Malisse when Malisse had to retire. In the third round. he fell to surprise semifinalist
Jürgen Melzer.
Ferrer's next tournament was the
Wimbledon, where he was the ninth seed. In the first round, he defeated
Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer (; born 5 July 1977) is a German former professional tennis player. He reached the semifinals of the 2006 Australian Open and won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Kie ...
, and then defeated
Florent Serra
Florent Lucien Serra (born 28 February 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. A right-hander, he won two ATP titles during his career and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 36 in June 2006.
Career Early life and ...
in the second round. In the third round, he defeated
Jérémy Chardy in five sets, with Chardy serving for the match at 5–4 in the fifth. In the fourth round, he was defeated by
Robin Söderling, again in five sets, despite being two points away from the match on two occasions. Ferrer next played for Spain in the
2010 Davis Cup
The 2010 Davis Cup (also known as the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas for sponsorship purposes) was the 99th edition of the most important annual tournament among national teams in men's tennis worldwide. In the dramatic final, Serbia defeated Fra ...
. He lost his first rubber to
Gaël Monfils of France. Spain ultimately lost to France 0–5. Ferrer then traveled to Sweden to play in the
2010 Swedish Open
The 2010 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour and 2010 WTA Tour. It took place in Båstad, Sweden, from July 5 through July 11, 2010 for Women's and fr ...
, where he was seeded third. Due to his seed, he received a bye in the first round and defeated
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
in the second round. He then defeated
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is an inactive Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna.
He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking o ...
in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. Ferrer also extended his ATP best wins on clay in 2010 to 31 wins. However, he lost to
Robin Söderling in the semifinals. He was then supposed to play in the
2010 International German Open
The 2010 International German Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was the 104th edition of the event known that year as the International German Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the 2010 ...
as the second seed, but had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury.
Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Rogers Cup, where he was seeded tenth, but lost in the first round to
David Nalbandian. Despite his loss, his ranking increased to world no. 11. Ferrer then traveled to Cincinnati to play in the
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, where he was once again seeded tenth. In the first round, he defeated
Alexandr Dolgopolov, and then defeated
Sam Querrey in the second round. However, in the third round, he lost to
Nikolay Davydenko, despite being up a break of serve twice in the third set. Ferrer's next event was the
2010 US Open, where he was seeded tenth. In the first round, he defeated
Alexandr Dolgopolov, and then defeated
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German retired professional tennis player who is known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open in what was Agassi's last match as a professional player.
B ...
in the second round. He then defeated
Daniel Gimeno-Traver for a spot in the round of 16. However, he lost to
Fernando Verdasco despite being up 4–2 in the fifth set, and 4–1 in the tiebreaker. Due to Ferrer's appearance in the round of 16, Ferrer was ensured to return to the top 10, to no. 10 in the world. Ferrer then traveled to Malaysia to play in the
2010 Proton Malaysian Open
The 2010 Malaysian Open (also known as the 2010 Proton Malaysian Open for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the Proton Malaysian Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour ...
, where he was seed fifth. In the first round, he defeated
Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two j ...
, and then defeated
Yuki Bhambri for a spot in the quarterfinals. He then defeated world no. 7
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
in the quarterfinals. However, in the semifinals, he was upset by
Andrey Golubev. Ferrer then traveled to Beijing to play in the
2010 China Open as the eighth seed. In the first round, he defeated
Denis Istomin, and then defeated
Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Robin Söderling for a spot in the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeated
Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubičić (; born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singles ranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching a Grand ...
for a spot in the finals. However, in the final, he lost to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in a rain-delayed match. With this run to the final, Ferrer once again returned to the top 10, at world no. 10, and this also put him in the eighth position for qualifying for the year-end championships.
Ferrer then traveled to Shanghai to play in the
2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters
The 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place ...
, where he was seeded 11th. In the first round, he defeated
Michaël Llodra, and then defeated
Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. However, he was defeated by
Robin Söderling in the third round. Due to his round of 16 showing, he moved to no. 8 in the world. Also, he moved to no. 7 in the race to the year-end championships. Ferrer then traveled to Valencia to play in the
2010 Valencia Open 500 as the hometown favorite. At the
2010 Valencia Open 500, he was seeded fourth and defeated
Guillermo García-López in the first round. He then defeated qualifier
Teymuraz Gabashvili for a spot in the quarterfinals. He then defeated
Potito Starace to advance to the semifinals. He then defeated
Robin Söderling for a spot in the final. In the final, he defeated
Marcel Granollers for the title, his ninth career title. With this victory, he moved to no. 7 in the race to the year-end championships and virtually secured his spot at the
2010 ATP World Tour Finals, and also improved his ranking to world no. 7. Ferrer's final regular-season tournament was the
2010 BNP Paribas Masters, where he was seeded no. 7. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round and defeated
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
. However, he lost to
Jürgen Melzer in the third round. Despite his loss, Ferrer still qualified for the
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...
due to the fact that
Fernando Verdasco lost his third-round match, sealing Ferrer's seventh spot and his second appearance since 2007. Ferrer then traveled to London to play in the
2010 ATP World Tour Finals, where he was seeded seventh. In his first match, he lost to Federer, and in his second match he lost to Söderling. Ferrer then lost to
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
to finish the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals with an 0–3 record. Ferrer finished the year with a 60–24 record, and once again in the top 10, finishing at world no. 7.
2011: Third Davis Cup title, two Masters finals
Ferrer began his
2011 ATP World Tour
The 2011 ATP World Tour was the elite men's professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2011 season. It was the 42nd edition of the tour and the calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments, ...
season at the
2011 Heineken Open
The 2011 Heineken Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the Heineken Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre in ...
, where he was the top seed. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round and defeated
Tobias Kamke
Tobias Kamke (born 21 May 1986) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 64 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in January 2011. In 2010, Kamke was awarde ...
. He then defeated
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Ch ...
to advance to the semifinals, and then defeated
Santiago Giraldo for a berth in the final, where he played
David Nalbandian. In the final, Ferrer defeated Nalbandian for his first title of the year and the tenth in his career.
Ferrer then traveled to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
to play in the
2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded seventh. In the first round, he defeated
Jarkko Nieminen, and next defeated
Michael Russell in the second round. He then defeated
Ričardas Berankis for a spot in the round of 16, where he then defeated
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...
for a spot in his second Australian Open quarterfinal. He beat an injured world no. 1
Rafael Nadal for a spot in the semifinals, winning in three sets. This notably ended Nadal's quest to win four straight majors. He lost to fifth seed
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
in the semifinal. With his run to the semifinals of the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, his ranking rose to world no. 6.
Ferrer then traveled to Rotterdam to play in the
2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
The 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the event known as the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, and was part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the 2011 ATP ...
, where he was seeded third, but lost in the first round to
Jarkko Nieminen. Next, Ferrer traveled to Acapulco for the
2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, where he was the top seed and defending champion. In the first round, he defeated
Adrian Ungur
Adrian Ungur (born 22 January 1985) is a Romanian former tennis player who mainly competed on the ATP Challenger Tour. He was a member of the Romania Davis Cup Team and was coached by Fabrizio Fanucci. In June 2012, Ungur reached his career-hig ...
, and then defeated
Santiago González in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Juan Mónaco, and then defeated
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the semifinals to advance to his second consecutive final at the
Abierto Mexicano Telcel. He defeated compatriot
Nicolás Almagro for his second consecutive title in Acapulco and his 11th career title.
Ferrer then traveled to Indian Wells to play in the
2011 BNP Paribas Open, where he was seeded sixth. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he lost to big-serving
Ivo Karlović. Ferrer then travelled to Miami to play in the
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open (also known as 2011 Miami Masters), a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 22 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Cen ...
, where he was seeded sixth. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he defeated qualifier
Igor Kunitsyn for a spot in the third round. In the third round, he defeated
Somdev Devvarman, and then defeated
Marcel Granollers for a spot in the quarterfinals. However, in the quarterfinals, he fell to
Mardy Fish, and later said it was due to indigestion.
Ferrer then traveled to Europe to begin the clay-court season. His first tournament was the
2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a men's tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from 9 April through 17 April 2011, on outdoor clay courts and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 category of the 2011 ATP World To ...
, where he was seeded fourth. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he defeated fellow Spaniard
Feliciano López. In the third round, he defeated
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...
, and then defeated
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 ...
for a spot in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semifinal. He dominated
Jürgen Melzer in the semifinals to advance to his second Masters 1000 final, where he ultimately fell to
Rafael Nadal.
Ferrer then traveled back to Spain to play in the
2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
The 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (also known as the ''Torneo Godó'') was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 59th edition of the event known this year as the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, and was part of the ATP W ...
, where he was seeded fourth. Due to his seeding, he received a by into the second round, where he beat
Carlos Berlocq
Carlos Alberto Berlocq (; born February 3, 1983) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coached by Walter Grinovero. Berlocq's career ...
, and
Victor Hănescu in the third round to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Jürgen Melzer, and then defeated
Nicolás Almagro for a spot in his third Barcelona final. However, in the final, he lost to
Rafael Nadal for the second week in a row. Ferrer then traveled to Madrid to play in the
2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters (also known as the Mutua Madrid Open for sponsorship reasons) was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from 30 April – 8 May. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on ...
as the sixth seed. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he defeated
Adrian Mannarino. He then went on to play
Sergiy Stakhovsky, whom he defeated in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Ferrer lost to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. It was his first defeat in their four meetings on clay. Ferrer then pulled out of Rome, due to injury, but then traveled to Paris to play in the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
.
At the French Open, Ferrer was seeded seventh. He advanced with easy wins over
Jarkko Nieminen,
Julien Benneteau, and
Sergiy Stakhovsky, before ultimately falling to ninth seed
Gaël Monfils in five sets. Due to his round of 16 appearance, Ferrer moved up to no. 6 in the world. Ferrer then took a month off before traveling to London to play in the
2011 Wimbledon Championships, as the seventh seed. In the first round, he defeated
Benoît Paire, and then defeated
Ryan Harrison in five sets. He then defeated
Karol Beck
Karol Beck (born 3 April 1982) is a male former tennis player from Slovakia, who turned professional in 2001. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 36, achieved in August 2005. Beck reached the fourth round of the 2004 US Open and the qu ...
in straight sets to advance to the round of 16. However, he fell to eventual semifinalist
Jo Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
.
After competing in two consecutive majors, Ferrer traveled to Sweden to play in the
2011 Swedish Open
The 2011 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour and 2011 WTA Tour. It took place in Båstad, Sweden, from 4 July through 10 July 2011 for women's and fr ...
as the second seed. He reached the semifinals, where he defeated
Nicolás Almagro, but lost to
Robin Söderling. Ferrer was then set to begin his summer hard-court series in Toronto, but pulled out with a hairline fracture of his left wrist. He healed in time to play in the
2011 Western & Southern Open as the fifth seed. He won his second-round match against
Grigor Dimitrov, before falling to
Gilles Simon. Due to the result, Ferrer entered the top 5 in the ATP rankings again, becoming world no. 5.
At the
US Open, he lost in the fourth round to
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
in four sets. At the
2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters
The 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place a ...
, Ferrer defeated
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...
, former
world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, former world no. 1 and tenth seed
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
, and
Feliciano López on his way to the final that he lost to second seed
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
in straight sets. At the
2011 ATP World Tour Finals
The 2011 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2011 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament that was played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom between 20 and 27 November 2011. The defending champ ...
, Ferrer's first match was against world no. 3
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
and the Spaniard won it. In his next match against world no. 1
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
, Ferrer won in just 75 minutes, securing his spot in the semifinals. In the last game of the round-robin stage, Ferrer lost to
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
in three sets. In the semifinals, Ferrer faced the defending champion and world no. 3
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and lost in straight sets. In the Davis Cup final in December, Ferrer won his rubber against
Juan Martín del Potro in five sets.
2012: Olympic doubles fourth place, first Masters title, fourth Davis Cup final
Ferrer started 2012 by participating in the
Mubadala World Tennis Championship held in
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
. He defeated world no. 6
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 2
Rafael Nadal to reach his first final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he lost to world no. 1
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. He won his first tournament of 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand at the Heineken Open ATP 250 (his third Auckland title and 12th Tour title) over
Olivier Rochus. At the
2012 Australian Open
The 2012 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 16 to 29 January 2012. It was the 100th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. The tournamen ...
, Ferrer was seeded fifth, and he defeated
Rui Machado,
Ryan Sweeting, 27th seed
Juan Ignacio Chela, and 17th seed
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
on his way to the quarterfinals. He then faced world no. 1
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
and lost in straight sets.
Ferrer was seeded first at the
2012 Copa Claro
The 2012 Copa Claro was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 15th edition of the Copa Claro, and it was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2012 ATP World Tour. It took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, fr ...
tournament and won it, defeating 2011 champion and second seed
Nicolás Almagro. It was Ferrer's second title of the year and 13th of his career. His third singles title of the year and 14th overall came in Acapulco, Mexico a week after his win in Argentina. He beat fellow Spaniard
Fernando Verdasco in the final, losing only three games. At the
2012 Sony Ericsson Open, Ferrer beat
Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two j ...
,
Julien Benneteau, and
2009 US Open 2009 U.S. Open may refer to:
*2009 U.S. Open (golf), a major golf tournament
*2009 US Open (tennis), a Grand Slam tennis tournament
*2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 96th edition of the USSF's annual national ...
champion
Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where he faced world no. 1
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. Ferrer lost in straight sets.
At the
2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters was a men's tennis tournament for male professional players, played from 16 April through 22 April 2012, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 106th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which was s ...
he was seeded fifth, but was upset in his second-round match by Brazilian
Thomaz Bellucci. The following week, Ferrer reached the final at the
2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
The 2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (also known as the ''Torneo Godó'') was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 60th edition of the event and it was part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the 2012 ATP World ...
, after winning over
Filip Krajinović,
Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López, and
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...
. He then lost the final to defending champion
Rafael Nadal. At the
2012 Muatua Madrid Open, held for the first time on blue clay, Ferrer defeated
Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 100 ...
and
Nicolás Almagro on his way to the quarterfinals. He then faced world no. 3 and eventual champion
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
and lost in straight sets. At the
2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2012 Italian Open (also known as the 2012 Rome Masters and sponsored title 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia) was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 69th edition of the Itali ...
, Ferrer was seeded fifth and defeated
Fernando Verdasco,
Gilles Simon, and
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
on his way to the semifinals. There he lost to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal. At the
2012 French Open, Ferrer lost only 25 games defeating
Lukáš Lacko,
Benoît Paire,
Mikhail Youzhny, and
Marcel Granollers on his way to the quarterfinals. There he won over world no. 4
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
and reached his first Roland Garros semifinal. He then lost to defending champion
Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1.
Ferrer won his fourth singles title of the year and 15th overall in
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
, Netherlands. He beat
Pierre-Ludovic Duclos,
Leonardo Mayer,
Igor Sijsling,
Benoît Paire, and
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner (born 24 March 1984) is a retired German professional tennis player. He was known for his hard-hitting forehand and bursts of speed around the court. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 9, which he achieved in ...
on his way to his second grass singles title. Ferrer then reached the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon, defeating
Dustin Brown,
Kenny de Schepper,
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
, and
Juan Martín del Potro. Ferrer made it to the last eight for the first time at the tenth attempt. Ferrer then went on to lose the match to
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
in a four-set thriller. Ferrer entered the quarterfinals of
Swedish Open
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
by defeating
Simone Bolelli. He eventually advanced to the finals, where he defeated countryman
Nicolás Almagro for his fifth title of the year.
At the
US Open, Ferrer made it to his fourth career Grand Slam semifinal, where he lost in four sets to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
. The semifinal had to be played over two days because of the threat of a tornado on the final Saturday. He had previously defeated
Kevin Anderson,
Igor Sijsling,
Lleyton Hewitt,
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
, and
Janko Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarević ( sr-cyr, Јанко Типсаревић, ; born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian former tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. In his career, he won 4 ATP World Tour titles, one AT ...
en route to the semifinals. Ferrer won his sixth title of the season in Valencia, defeating
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. Ferrer won his first
Masters 1000 title in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
at the end of the season, beating
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals,
Michaël Llodra in the semifinals, and
Jerzy Janowicz in the final. This was also his seventh ATP Tour-level title of the year, the most of any player that season. He also won more matches that year than any other player, male or female. In late 2012 Ferrer faced questions about his involvement with doping doctor Luis Garcia del Moral.
2013: French Open final, two Masters finals, world No.3
Ferrer started his
2013 season by successfully defending his
Heineken Open title defeating
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Ch ...
in straight sets. At the Australian Open, Ferrer came back from two sets down to defeat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals. In his semifinal match he was thrashed by eventual champion Djokovic in straight sets, winning only five games. Following the continued absence of
Rafael Nadal from the ATP Tour, Ferrer became the Spanish no. 1 for the first time in his career, re-entering the top 4 in the rankings on 28 January 2013. Ferrer then won his second title of the year at the
Copa Claro
The ATP Buenos Aires ( es, Abierto de Buenos Aires, ) originally known as the Argentina International Championships and established in 1927 is an annual tennis event for male tennis players held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tournament is an A ...
defeating
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
in three sets.
but lost to Nadal in the
2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 20th edition of the men's tournament (13th for the women), and part of the 2013 ATP World Tour and the 2013 WTA Tour. It took place i ...
final in Acapulco, winning only two games. He then suffered an early loss at the
2013 BNP Paribas Open
The 2013 BNP Paribas Open (also known as the 2013 Indian Wells Masters) was a professional tennis tournament that was played at Indian Wells, California, in March 2013. It was the 40th edition of the men's event (25th for the women), known as the ...
, falling to
Kevin Anderson in his first match of the tournament.
He then reached the final of
Miami Masters after outlasting
Jürgen Melzer and
Tommy Haas
Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in M ...
, but lost to
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
after holding a championship point in the deciding set, Ferrer moved back into the top 4 as a result. Ferrer withdrew from Monte Carlo and was upset by
Dmitry Tursunov at the
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
The Barcelona Open (currently sponsored by Banc Sabadell) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event has been held in Barcelona, Spain every year from 1953 (except for its cancellation in 2020), and is played on clay c ...
. Ferrer reached his fifth final of the year at the
Portugal Open
The Portugal Open (formerly named Estoril Open) was an ATP and WTA clay court tennis tournament in Portugal. The event took place at the sports complex of Jamor in Oeiras, of which Estoril Court Central is the most prominent show court. In 201 ...
facing Wawrinka, but this time falling in straight sets to the Swiss.
He then lost to Nadal in back-to-back quarterfinals in the Masters event of
Mutua Madrid Open and
Internazionali BNL d'Italia. At the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
, Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final without dropping a set. He defeated three of his compatriots,
Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López, and
Tommy Robredo, all in straight sets, to reach his sixth Grand Slam semifinal. He then defeated sixth seed
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the final, where he was defeated by defending champion
Rafael Nadal. Despite failing to win the title, Ferrer regained the world no. 4 spot from Nadal on the basis of earning more points than the previous year, while Nadal defended his entire points total from 2012.
At the
2013 TOPSHELF Open
The 2013 Topshelf Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 24th edition of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, and was part of the 250 Series of the 2013 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA International tournamen ...
in
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...
, Ferrer went out in the first round to veteran Belgian
Xavier Malisse despite being the defending champion. His next tournament was
Wimbledon, where he made it to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year before falling to
Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. Ferrer had disastrous US Open tune-ups at the
2013 Rogers Cup
The 2013 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 124th edition (for the men) and the 112th (for the women) of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of th ...
and
2013 Western & Southern Open, winning only one match and losing to Russians
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the second round and
Dmitry Tursunov in the third round. He rebounded at the
US Open, losing to
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
in the quarterfinals in five sets despite taking the third and fourth sets, in his first loss since 2008 to the Frenchman.
He then reached another final, at the
If Stockholm Open
The Stockholm Open (currently sponsored by Intrum) is an indoor tennis event on the ATP Tour played at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden. The tournament is owned by The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm, SALK (Stockholm Pu ...
facing
Grigor Dimitrov, but lost in three sets to hand the Bulgarian his first title. Ferrer then followed it up with another final appearance at the
Valencia Open 500, where he was the defending champion. However, he fell to Russian
Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. He reached his third final in as many weeks at the
BNP Paribas Masters
The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the AccorHotels Arena, in the neighborhood of Bercy.
The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association o ...
, where he was the defending champion after defeating world no. 1
Rafael Nadal, ending his nine-match losing streak to the Spaniard.
However, he lost to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in straight sets, despite serving for each set in the tenth game. This was Ferrer's seventh consecutive loss in a final.
A big change in December was his parting with coach
Javier Piles, who had been his coach from the beginning of his career.
He did not win any matches at the year-end championships for a disappointing end to the year. However, he had his best year-end finish in the rankings at no. 3.
2014: Seventh Masters final and steady ranking
Ferrer began his 2014 season losing to
Daniel Brands in the second round of the Qatar Open. He reached the semifinals of the Heineken Open, where he was defeated by
Lu Yen-hsun. Ferrer reached the quarterfinals of the
2014 Australian Open
The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of eve ...
, where he lost to
Tomas Berdych Tomas may refer to:
People
* Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name
* Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name
* Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name
* Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian s ...
in four sets. In February, Ferrer successfully defended his title at the
2014 Copa Claro, which was his first title of the year. In
2014 Rio Open semifinals, Ferrer was defeated by
Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. At the
2014 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2014 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the men's tournament (14th for the women), and part of the 2014 ATP World Tour and the 2014 WTA Tour. It took place in ...
quarterfinals, Ferrer retired against
Kevin Anderson due to leg injury.
Ferrer made his return in the
2014 Sony Open Tennis reaching fourth round before losing to
Kei Nishikori after squandering four match points. He made the semifinals of the
2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. In the quarterfinals, he beat
Rafael Nadal for the first time in 10 years on clay, before losing to
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
in the semifinals. He made the semifinals again at the
2014 Mutua Madrid Open, where he lost to
Kei Nishikori. He was defeated by
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in the quarterfinals at the
2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2014 Italian Open (also known as the 2014 Rome Masters and sponsored title 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 71st edition of the Italian O ...
. Ferrer made it to the
2014 French Open
The 2014 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 118th edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 25 May to 8 June. It consisted of e ...
quarterfinals. He lost to world no. 1 and compatriot,
Rafael Nadal, in four sets.
Ferrer was defeated by world no.118
Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round of the
2014 Wimbledon Championships
The 2014 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 128th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held fro ...
ending his 10 grand slam quarterfinal streak. He made it to the quarterfinals in the
2014 Swedish Open
The 2014 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts as part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2014 ATP World Tour and as part of the International Series on the 2014 WTA Tour. It took place in Båstad, Sweden, from 7 ...
before losing to
Carlos Berlocq
Carlos Alberto Berlocq (; born February 3, 1983) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coached by Walter Grinovero. Berlocq's career ...
in straight sets. He made it to the final of the
2014 International German Open
The 2014 International German Open (also known as the bet–at–home Open – German Tennis Championships 2014 for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played on Clay court, outdoor red clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the e ...
. In the final, he was defeated by
Leonardo Mayer.
He began his American Swing by reaching quarterfinals of the
2014 Rogers Cup
The 2014 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 125th edition (for the men) and the 113th (for the women) of the Canadian Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of th ...
before losing to
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. He made it to the final of the
2014 Western & Southern Open
The 2014 Western & Southern Open (the Cincinnati Masters) was a men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor hard courts August 11–17, 2014. It was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2014 ATP World Tour and of th ...
. In the final, he was again defeated by
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
. However,
2014 US Open became a disappointment, when he was defeated by
Gilles Simon.
Ferrer was upset by
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki ( sr-Cyrl, Виктор Троицки, ; born 10 February 1986) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, and his second and third ATP singles titles at the 2015 ...
at the
2014 ATP Shenzhen Open. He continued to struggle in the Asian Swing by bowing out against
Marcel Granollers in the
2014 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2014 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known this year as the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, and part of the 500 Series of the 2 ...
. He improved in the
2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters by defeating
Martin Klizan Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
and
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
both coming from a set down. He lost to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
in the quarterfinals.
Ferrer made it to the final of the
2014 Erste Bank Open
The 2014 Erste Bank Open was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the event known that year as the Erste Bank Open, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2014 ATP World Tour. It was held at ...
. There, he was defeated by
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
. He made it to the quarterfinals of the
2014 BNP Paribas Masters
The 2014 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 42nd edition of the tournament, and part of the 2014 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Par ...
.F before losing to
Kei Nishikori. As a result, he failed to qualify for the
2014 ATP World Tour Finals
The 2014 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 9 and 16 November 2014. It was the season-end ...
, but later replaced
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), w ...
in the group phase when the latter had to withdraw due to an injury. He lost his match against
Kei Nishikori in three sets and finished the year ranked no.10.
2015: Return to form and continued success
Ferrer began his
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
season at the
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The Qatar Open, currently known as the Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals ( ...
, where he was seeded fourth. There, he won his 22nd ATP World Tour title by defeating
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
in the final in straight sets. He was then scheduled to play at the
Heineken Open in Auckland a week later, but withdrew due to fatigue. At the
2015 Australian Open, he made it to the fourth round, losing to
Kei Nishikori.
In February, Ferrer won back-to-back titles at the
2015 Rio Open and
2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel by defeating
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
and
Kei Nishikori, respectively.
In May, Ferrer made the semifinals of the
Rome Masters
The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
, before being defeated by
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
, matching his best performance at the tournament since 2012.
Next, Ferrer competed at the 2015 French Open getting through the first two rounds without dropping a set. Then, Ferrer fought
Simone Bolelli in the third round in a close five-setter, as well as defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach his fourth French Open quarterfinal, before losing to
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
in four sets.
However, Ferrer lost his first match on grass at Queen's Club and withdrew from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury. He was eliminated early at the US Open.
Ferrer proceeded to win his 25th career title at the Kuala Lumpur Open, defeating compatriot
Feliciano López. This marked the first ever all-Spanish final and Ferrer became the first ever Spaniard to win the title in Kuala Lumpur. Winning the title, he also maintained his 4–0 wins in finals in 2015.
He continued his winning streak by winning the
Ersta Bank Open in Vienna, defeating
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
,
Gaël Monfils and
Steve Johnson to bring his finals record in 2015 to 5–0.
2016: Out of top 20
Ferrer started his season in an exhibition at the
Mubadala World Tennis Championships. Ferrer easily defeated
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and then lost to
Rafael Nadal in a close three-setter. Ferrer then played
Stan Wawrinka for the third place match. Ferrer lost the first set, but came back to win. Ferrer then arrived at the
Qatar Open as the fourth seed and defending champion. Ferrer lost in the first round to
Illya Marchenko, despite winning the first set. Ferrer then competed at
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
as the top seed. Ferrer made it through to the semifinals after defeating qualifier
Matthew Barton and
Lukáš Rosol, but lost to
Jack Sock despite winning the first set. Ferrer then played in the first Grand Slam of the year at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
. Ferrer defeated qualifier
Peter Gojowczyk
Peter Gojowczyk ( ; born 15 July 1989) is a German professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 39 in June 2018.
Tennis career 2014: Cracking the top 100
Gojowczyk began the year by reaching his first to ...
in the first round. In the second round, Ferrer defeated
Lleyton Hewitt, who was playing his last career singles match. Ferrer then defeated 31st seed
Steve Johnson and 10th seed
John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Considered one of the best servers ...
. Ferrer reached the quarterfinals without having lost a set. In the quarterfinals, Ferrer lost to second seed and eventual finalist
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
in four sets. Ferrer then arrived as second seed at the
Argentina Open. Ferrer defeated wildcard
Renzo Olivo in straight sets. Ferrer then defeated eighth seed
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is an inactive Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna.
He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking o ...
in three sets, before losing to
Nicolás Almagro in straight sets in the semifinals. Ferrer then arrived at the
Rio Open as the second seed. Ferrer defeated wildcard
Nicolás Jarry in straight sets. Ferrer then came from a set down to defeat
Albert Ramos-Viñolas. Ferrer's tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals when he lost to fifth seed
Dominic Thiem in straight sets. Ferrer fell in the second round of the
Mexican Open to
Alexandr Dolgopolov and the second round of the
Miami Open to
Lucas Pouille
Lucas Pouille (, born 23 February 1994) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 10, achieved on 19 March 2018 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 79, achieved on 11 April 2016. ...
to end his hard-court season.
To begin the clay-court season, Ferrer competed at the
Madrid Open, defeating both
Guillermo García-López and
Denis Kudla in three sets, before falling to
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
in straight sets. He followed this up with another third-round appearance in the
Rome Masters
The Italian Open ( it, Internazionali d'Italia; literally: ''Italy's Internationals''), originally called the Italian International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournament ...
, this time losing to Pouille in straight sets. He began the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
well, defeating Russia's
Evgeny Donskoy. He went on to take down
Juan Mónaco and
Feliciano López before again falling to Berdych in straight sets. The grass-court season did not go nearly as well, bowing out in the first round of
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
to
Andreas Seppi and the second round of
Wimbledon to
Nicolas Mahut.
The hard-court season began with the Olympics for Ferrer. Ferrer got through the first round against
Denis Istomin, before falling to Donskoy in a tightly contested match. The
Cincinnati Masters saw another first-round exit, this time at the hands of
Julien Benneteau. Ferrer began the
US Open by defeating Dolgopolov in the first round and
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. He is currently ranked (July 2022) in 64th place by the Association of Tennis Professionals (AT ...
in the second, before falling to an in-form
Juan Martín del Potro in the third round, matching his performance of the previous two years at the tournament.
2017–18: Last title, final Grand Slam appearance
After playing in two 250-level Pacific warm-up events, Ferrer competed in the
2017 Australian Open. He defeated two qualifiers before falling to compatriot
Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. This marked Ferrer's earliest exit at the tournament since 2010.
In July of the same year, Ferrer won his first tournament since October 2015 at the
2017 Swedish Open, defeating Ukrainian
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. In the
Cincinnati Masters, Ferrer defeated world No. 8
Dominic Thiem to reach the semifinals where he lost to
Nick Kyrgios
Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won seven ATP Tour singles titles, includin ...
in two tiebreak sets.
In his final grand slam appearance, Ferrer was drawn to face compatriot and long-time rival
Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the
2018 US Open. The match came to a premature end in the middle of the second set when Ferrer was forced to retire from the match with a calf injury.
2019: Retirement
On 15 August 2018,
Hopman Cup organisers announced that Ferrer would represent Spain at the 2019 edition alongside
Garbiñe Muguruza. It was his debut appearance at this tournament.
On 28 August 2018, Ferrer announced that the
2019 season would be his last in the tour. He also announced a preliminary list of 6 tournaments in which he wants to compete during his final season: the
Hopman Cup,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
,
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...
,
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
and
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
.
At the
Miami Masters, Ferrer battled from a set down to defeat world number 3
Alexander Zverev
Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (; born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as high as world No. 2, and was continuously ranked in the top 10 from July 2017 to ...
. This was Ferrer's first top 3 victory in almost 5 years.
Ferrer would cross the path of Alexander Zverev again at his final tournament, the
Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:
*Madrid Open (tennis)
The Madrid Open ( es, Masters de Madrid, link=no), currently sponsored by Mutua Madrileña and known as the Mutua Madrid Open, is a joint men's and women's professional ...
. From 4–1 up in the first set, he lost 6–4, 6–1, thus ending his career.
Ferrer announced that he would be the new director of the Barcelona Open. Albert Costa was the previous director of the tournament for 11 years.
Coaching career
Ferrer began coaching
Alexander Zverev
Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (; born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as high as world No. 2, and was continuously ranked in the top 10 from July 2017 to ...
in July of 2020 alongside Zverev's father. They have since parted ways.
Playing style and reputation
Ferrer is noted for being one of the more dogged, agile, and fit players on the tour, and he has won many matches with consistent baseline play, great fitness, footspeed, and determination. Although he does not possess powerful
groundstrokes like many of his contemporaries, his ability to keep the ball deep in play and move his opponents around the court has allowed him to be successful on all surfaces, especially on clay and hard courts. Although he is not a great net player, Ferrer's speed allows him to quickly cut off his opponents' shots and volley whilst they are off balance.
Darren Cahill has said that Ferrer and
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
are the two best returners in the men's game, even surpassing former dominant return specialists like
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...
, who Cahill previously regarded as the best return specialist in the history of men's tennis. In 2007,
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
regarded Ferrer as the best returner in the men's game.
["David Ferrer's Elite Return Game"](_blank)
''The Daily Fix'', 26 January 2011.
At a personal level, Ferrer's reputation on the tour is that of a humble and shy person, rarely being involved in any controversy throughout his career. Calm and disciplined, he is admired for his tenacity and competitiveness on the court.
Due to his speed, defensive prowess and lack of significant power, many have compared Ferrer's playing style to that of former US Open and Wimbledon champion
Lleyton Hewitt.
In February 2016, Ferrer featured in a video by the ATP titled "Ferrer Getting Better and Better". It highlighted the longevity of Ferrer's career, his fighting spirit, consistency and the success he has been able to achieve even at the age of 36. It pointed out that, despite his long career, Ferrer had his second best season in 2015. Ferrer has the most match wins, the most tournament wins, and the most Grand Slam match wins of all players who have not won a Grand Slam. In the video, Ferrer also reveals that his tennis idol growing up was
Sergi Bruguera.
Personal life
Ferrer supports
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the S ...
. He also enjoys playing basketball.
On 28 November 2015, Ferrer married his long-time girlfriend, Marta Tornel Nieto. The couple were introduced in 2008 by Ferrer's then-coach
Javier Piles and his wife. Tornel has a degree in
optometry
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Un ...
and works at her family's opticians in
Benifaió. On 4 May 2018, Ferrer and Tornel announced the birth of a son, Leo, via social media.
An avid reader, Ferrer's favorite novelists are
Arturo Perez-Reverte and
Ildefonso Falcones. Ferrer's favorite book is Perez-Reverte's
La Reina del Sur (Queen of the South). He keeps every book he reads. Of reading, Ferrer says, “I want to read books that will help me improve as a person and not just a tennis player."
Rivalries
Ferrer vs. Murray
Ferrer and
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray ...
have faced each other 20 times (not including one occasion when there was a walkover in favour of Murray), with Ferrer trailing in their head-to-head, 6–14. Ferrer leads 4–1 on clay, while Murray leads on hard courts 12–2, and 1–0 on grass. They have met each other five times at Grand Slam tournament level, which Murray leads 4–1. The first was at 2011 Australian Open, which Murray won after losing the first set. They would meet again in 2012 Roland Garros, which Ferrer won losing the second set in a tie-breaker, and 2012 Wimbledon, with Murray scoring the win in a four set match. The next two matches occurred at the 2015 Roland Garros and the 2016 Australian Open, which Murray won, despite Ferrer managing to win a set off Murray in both matches. During the rivalry, they have only met three times at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray leading 2–1.
Ferrer vs. Verdasco
Ferrer and Verdasco have faced each other 21 times, with Ferrer leading in their head-to-head, 14–7. Ferrer leads 6–4 on clay and 8–2 on hard courts, while Verdasco leads 1–0 on grass. They have only had two meetings at a Grand Slam tournament level, with both matches going to Verdasco. The first took place 2007 Roland Garros, which Verdasco won after losing the first set (4–6, 7–6
(2), 6–3, 6–3). The second meeting occurred at 2010 US Open, which Verdasco won in a five-setter match (5–7, 6–7
(8), 6–3, 6–3, 7–6
(4)).
Ferrer vs. Lopez
Ferrer and Lopez have faced each other 19 times, with Ferrer leading in their head-to-head, 11–8. Ferrer leads 7–3 on clay, while Lopez leads on hard courts 5–4. They have met each other three times at Grand Slam tournament level. The three meetings took place at Roland Garros, with Ferrer winning two and Lopez winning one. The pair first met each other in the semifinals of New Haven 2005, which Lopez won in three sets. Ever year after 2005 they competed against each other, with 2010 being the exception. No matches were played on that year.
Ferrer vs. Berdych
Ferrer and Berdych have met 16 times, sharing even wins against one another. Their head-to-head is 8–8. Ferrer trails against Berdych 2–4 on clay, whereas he leads 5–3 on hard courts, and is tied at 1–1 on grass. Their first meeting was at the Gstaad Open, with Ferrer winning. They have only met each other three times at Grand Slam tournament level, with Berdych leading 3–0. The first was in the 2014 Australian Open, which Berdych won after losing the third set. Their second meeting was at the 2016 Roland Garros, which Berdych won in three straight sets. Their third encounter was at 2017 Wimbledon Championship, where Berdych won again in straight sets.
In addition, they have faced each other twice at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and once in the Davis Cup, with Berdych leading 2–0 and Ferrer leading 1–0 respectively. Despite playing 16 matches against each other, they have only played in one tiebreaker against each other, this was at the
2016 Mutua Madrid Open which Berdych won 10–8 in the opening set. He went to win the match in straight sets. For multiple reasons, both Ferrer and Berdych have been considered the greatest players of all time to not have won a Grand Slam.
Ferrer vs. Wawrinka
Ferrer and Wawrinka have met 14 times, scoring equal wins against one another. Ferrer and Wawrinka are even on clay 3–3, while Ferrer trails against Wawrinka 3–4 on hard courts; Ferrer leads 1–0 on grass. Despite meeting on many occasions, they have never played against each other at Grand Slam level. There have been two encounters at Barclay ATP World Tour Finals in the years of 2013 and 2015, which Wawrinka won, and one encounter at the Davis Cup in 2010, with Ferrer beating Wawrinka in straight sets.
Ferrer vs. Nishikori
Ferrer and Nishikori have met 14 times, with Nishikori leading 10–4. Their first encounter was at 2008 US Open with Nishikori beating Ferrer in a five-set thriller. They next met again from 2011–2013 with Ferrer winning 3 times in straight sets and Nishikori winning only once in the Olympics at 2012 in three sets. However, throughout 2014, they met four times, with every match won by Nishikori. They first met in 2014 in the Miami Masters with Nishikori beating Ferrer in 3 tight-sets after saving 4 match points to progress to the QF. They next had an epic encounter at the Madrid Open with Nishikori beating Ferrer in another tight 3-setter to progress to the final of a Masters 1000. Their next 2 encounters were in the BNP Paribas Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals where Nishikori again defeated the Spaniard in 3 sets.
In 2015, Ferrer had a remarkable start to the season but was beaten in the Australian Open by Nishikori in straight sets. However, Ferrer ended his losing streak to Nishikori in the
2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, where he beat Nishikori in straight sets in the final. In Madrid, in the quarterfinals, Nishikori took revenge and beat him in straight sets.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Grand Slam tournament finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Year–End Championships performance timeline
Year–End Championship finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
References
External links
Official website
Profiles
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrer, David
1982 births
Living people
Olympic tennis players of Spain
People from Xàbia
Sportspeople from the Province of Alicante
Spanish male tennis players
Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Tennis players from the Valencian Community