David Ferrer
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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 ...
player. A three-time Davis Cup 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") , i ...
, 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 organ ...
( ATP 250, ATP 500,
Masters 1000 The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
) 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 Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired American tennis player who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the 1977 French Open, won the 1975 and 1977 Fren ...
who held this record for 32 years.Ferrer turned professional in 2000 and was regarded as a clay-court 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 Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...
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, 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 Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
.


Career


1999–2001: Turning pro and first Challenger title

Ferrer was born in
Xàbia () or () is a coastal town and municipality in the '' comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. Situated on the side of the Montgó Massif, behind a wide bay and sheltered between two rock ...
in the province of Alicante, but he moved to
Gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can acc ...
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 ci ...
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 Manerbio (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, northern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the ...
. 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 of ...
(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 David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
and
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved hi ...
, lost to
Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...
). 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 Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments, as well as six
ATP Masters Series The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
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 S ...
in the second round. Ferrer advanced to the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon. He reached his third career final in Sopot and lost to
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved hi ...
. In doubles, he reached his first career final in Acapulco with
Fernando Vicente Fernando Vicente Fibla (; born 8 March 1977) is a professional tennis coach and a former player from Spain, who turned professional in 1996. He reached his career-high ATP ranking of world No. 29 in June 2000, winning three singles titles and ...
. 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 and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
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 (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
(defeated no. 6
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
, lost to
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved hi ...
). He advanced to the semifinals in Stuttgart (lost to Gastón Gaudio). 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 champi ...
) and Lyon (defeated
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, lost to
Xavier Malisse Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a former Belgian professional tennis player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed ''X-Man'', he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked ...
). He ended the year with a ranking of world no. 49. In 2005, Ferrer advanced to the semifinals in Miami by defeating
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
,
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, and
Dominik Hrbatý Dominik Hrbatý (; born 4 January 1978) is a Slovakian former professional tennis player. Hrbatý reached the semifinals of the 1999 French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in October 2005. Hrbatý is one of onl ...
, but lost to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. He closed the year with a quarterfinal showing in Madrid, where he defeated Puerta, but lost to
Robby Ginepri Robert Louis Ginepri ( ; born October 7, 1982) is a retired American professional tennis player. He won three ATP singles titles in his career and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in December 2005. Ginepri's best Grand Slam result ...
, 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 Ope ...
. 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 ...
, where he lost to
Olivier Rochus Olivier Rochus (; born 18 January 1981) is a retired Belgian tennis player. He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus, also a former top-40 tennis player. Rochus won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles ...
. He broke into the top 10 ATP rankings for the first time, following a personal-best fourth-round showing at the Australian Open, where he defeated
Mario Ančić Mario Ančić (; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking ...
, but lost to
Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born 9 December 1972) is a French retired tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is ...
. He was in the top 10 for five weeks during the year. Then, playing in the first round of a Davis Cup 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 Ope ...
, 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 Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
. 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 S ...
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 and a career-best fourth round at Wimbledon, where he defeated González in the third round, but lost to
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
. 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 line wi ...
, where he defeated no. 10
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
, but lost to González, followed by a third-round showing at New Haven, where he lost to
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
. 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 Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
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 competi ...
, he defeated Kristian Pless, Thomas Johansson, 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 1000 ...
, and lost in the fourth round to
Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.Fish won six tournaments on the mai ...
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 ''"Ne ...
. 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 ...
, 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 ci ...
, and the quarterfinals in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
. At the French Open, he was stopped by
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
in the third round. At Wimbledon, he was eliminated by Frenchman
Paul-Henri Mathieu Paul-Henri Mathieu (; born 12 January 1982) is a French former professional tennis player. He won four singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best singles performance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was reaching the semifinals of the ...
in the second round. In July, he captured his second title of the year and fourth of his career, beating
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
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 by ...
in Båstad. 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 line wit ...
, 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 Ope ...
in the third round. At the US Open, he was seeded 15th and knocked out 24th-seeded
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
in the third round, and then upset second-seeded compatriot
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in the fourth round in four sets. He beat 20th-seeded
Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...
in the quarterfinals and reached his first
Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
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 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 ...
, he made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. Ferrer qualified as the sixth seed for the year-ending
Tennis Masters Cup 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 ...
. To begin, Ferrer upset third seed Djokovic in his first round-robin match, and then defeated second seed
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. 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 Ope ...
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 Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
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 ...
, where Ferrer was top seed. He reached the second week of the Australian 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 Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
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 ''"Ne ...
. On 20 April, he captured his first ATP title of the year, and the sixth in his career, when he defeated
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
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 Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
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 The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professio ...
, losing against the eventual tournament champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
, 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 ci ...
the following week, Ferrer reached the final, after defeating Nicolás Lapentti, sixth seed
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
, 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, matching his previous best appearance in 2005. In his first two rounds, he defeated
Steve Darcis Steve Darcis (, born 13 March 1984) is a Belgian retired professional tennis player. In his career, he won two ATP titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 38 on 22 May 2017. Personal life Steve Darcis was born in Liège t ...
and
Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born 9 December 1972) is a French retired tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is ...
. He then prevailed in two five-set matches over
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
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 1000 ...
in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. He eventually fell to local favorite
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
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 Mario Ančić (; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking ...
and Argentine
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
en route to the final, where he won in straight sets over Frenchman
Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel (born 30 March 1977) is a former professional male tennis player from France. Tennis career Gicquel turned pro in 1999. He made his ATP Tour singles debut at the 2002 Open 13 tournament on hard courts in Marseilles, France. He ...
. 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 Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky ( uk, Сергій Едуардович Стаховський, ; born January 6, 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger le ...
, 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 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 is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
, 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 David "Dudi" Sela ( he, דודי סלע; born 4 April 1985) is an Israeli professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009. Sela won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israe ...
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 to fellow Spaniard
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
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 ...
at the Heineken Open losing to
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
in the semifinals. At the Australian Open, he was upset by
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
in the third round. He then bounced back with a semifinal showing at the SA Tennis Open falling to
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austral ...
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, 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 and Sony Ericsson Open, 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 Ope ...
and
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
, 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 Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
. 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 ...
, losing to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in the final. However, the Spaniard suffered early loses at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Estoril Open, and Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. At the French Open, he fell to surprise finalist
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
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 1000 ...
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 Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
. However, the Spaniard had an abysmal US Open Series, losing in the third round of 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 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 The Malaysian Open was a professional men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour. It was held annually in late September, early ...
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 Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
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 1000 ...
in five sets.


2010: First Masters final

Ferrer lost in the second round of the 2010 Australian Open to
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
, after winning the first two sets, in a match lasting just over four hours. Ferrer's next tournament was the SA Tennis Open. In the first round, he defeated Karol Beck. In the second round, he beat Filip Prpic, and then won his quarterfinal against
Somdev Devvarman Somdev Kishore Devvarman (born 13 February 1985) is a former professional Indian tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals ...
. However, in the semifinals, he lost to
Stéphane Robert Stéphane Robert (; born 17 May 1980) is a professional French tennis player. Career Coach From 2001 to March 2010, Ronan Lafaix was Robert's coach. In May 2016, Lafaix, who is 12 years older than Robert, became Robert's coach for the secon ...
. 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 ...
, 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 in the quarterfinals and went on to defeat Albert Montañés. However, in the final, he fell to
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
. 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 Potito Starace (; born 14 July 1981) is an Italian retired professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world no. 27 on October 15, 2007. He was a clay court specialist, and was coached by Umberto Ri ...
and then defeated
Thomaz Bellucci Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early i ...
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 of ...
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 Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
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 Marco Chiudinelli (born 10 September 1981) is a retired tennis player from Switzerland. A member of Switzerland's winning 2014 Davis Cup squad, he reached his highest singles ranking of 52 in February 2010 during a career that was often hindered ...
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. 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, where he was seeded 15th. In his second-round match, he defeated Michaël Llodra, and then defeated
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
. However, in the fourth round, he was defeated by
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. Ferrer then entered the European clay-court swing. His first tournament was the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he was seeded 11th. In the first round, he defeated qualifier
Peter Luczak Peter Luczak ( pl, Łuczak, ; born 31 August 1979) is a retired professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP singles ranking was World No. 64, achieved in October 2009. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won ...
, and then defeated
Andrey Golubev Andrey Golubev ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Го́лубев; born July 22, 1987) is a Kazakh professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 33, achieved on 4 October 2010 and his doubles ranking i ...
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 S ...
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 Cha ...
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 Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early i ...
in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he played
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
. 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 Clay court, outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition o ...
, 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 wi ...
, and in the second round, he defeated
Potito Starace Potito Starace (; born 14 July 1981) is an Italian retired professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world no. 27 on October 15, 2007. He was a clay court specialist, and was coached by Umberto Ri ...
. In the third round, he defeated world no. 5 Andy Murray, and then in the quarterfinals, he defeated world no. 10
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 ...
. He faced world no. 9
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
for a spot in his first Masters 1000 event final. Ferrer ultimately succumbed to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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, where he was seeded ninth. In the first round, he defeated
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austral ...
and defeated
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
after fending off a match point. He then defeated
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austral ...
to advance to the quarterfinals. There, he, for the second successive time, beat world no. 4 Andy 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 The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 114th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 23 May through ...
, where he entered as a favorite. He began his campaign with a victory over French wildcard David Guez, and then defeated
Xavier Malisse Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a former Belgian professional tennis player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed ''X-Man'', he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked ...
when Malisse had to retire. In the third round. he fell to surprise semifinalist
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
. 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. Kiefer ...
, and then defeated Florent Serra in the second round. In the third round, he defeated
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austral ...
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 Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
, 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 Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
of France. Spain ultimately lost to France 0–5. Ferrer then traveled to Sweden to play in the 2010 Swedish Open, 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 (ATP) ...
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 of ...
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 Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
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 David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. 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 Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
in the second round. However, in the third round, he lost to
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
, 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. Bec ...
in the second round. He then defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver for a spot in the round of 16. However, he lost to
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
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 Tou ...
, 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 ju ...
, and then defeated
Yuki Bhambri Yuki Bhambri (born 4 July 1992) is an Indian professional tennis player. He is a former junior no. 1 and winner of the 2009 Australian Open Junior Championship. He is the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open title and the fourth Ind ...
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 champi ...
in the quarterfinals. However, in the semifinals, he was upset by
Andrey Golubev Andrey Golubev ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Го́лубев; born July 22, 1987) is a Kazakh professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 33, achieved on 4 October 2010 and his doubles ranking i ...
. Ferrer then traveled to Beijing to play in the 2010 China Open as the eighth seed. In the first round, he defeated
Denis Istomin Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in Aug ...
, and then defeated
Yen-Hsun Lu Lu Yen-hsun (; born 14 August 1983) is a Taiwanese retired professional tennis player, who goes by the nickname Rendy Lu. He won the most titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in tennis history. His favorite surface is hardcourt, though several of ...
in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
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 S ...
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, where he was seeded 11th. In the first round, he defeated Michaël Llodra, and then defeated
Thomaz Bellucci Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early i ...
in the second round. However, he was defeated by
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
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 The 2010 Valencia Open 500 was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, and was part of the 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It was held at the Ciutat de l ...
as the hometown favorite. At the
2010 Valencia Open 500 The 2010 Valencia Open 500 was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, and was part of the 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It was held at the Ciutat de l ...
, he was seeded fourth and defeated
Guillermo García-López Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar ...
in the first round. He then defeated qualifier Teymuraz Gabashvili for a spot in the quarterfinals. He then defeated
Potito Starace Potito Starace (; born 14 July 1981) is an Italian retired professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world no. 27 on October 15, 2007. He was a clay court specialist, and was coached by Umberto Ri ...
to advance to the semifinals. He then defeated
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
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 The 2010 BNP Paribas Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the tournament known that year as the BNP Paribas Masters after the sponsor BNP Paribas. It was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ...
, 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 (ATP) ...
. However, he lost to
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
in the third round. Despite his loss, Ferrer still qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals due to the fact that
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
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 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 Cha ...
to advance to the semifinals, and then defeated
Santiago Giraldo Santiago Giraldo Salazar (, born 27 November 1987) is a retired Colombian professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reaching the final in the 2014 ...
for a berth in the final, where he played
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. 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 met ...
to play in the 2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded seventh. In the first round, he defeated
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles titles ...
, and next defeated Michael Russell in the second round. He then defeated
Ričardas Berankis Ričardas Berankis (; born June 21, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional tennis player. He is the first and only Lithuanian citizen (not counting Lithuanian American Vitas Gerulaitis) to enter the ATP top 50 rankings, making him the highest ran ...
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 ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
for a spot in his second Australian Open quarterfinal. He beat an injured world no. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 in the semifinal. With his run to the semifinals of the Australian Open, his ranking rose to world no. 6. Ferrer then traveled to Rotterdam to play in the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, where he was seeded third, but lost in the first round to
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles titles ...
. 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, and then defeated Santiago González in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Miami Masters, and achieved a career-high singles ranking ...
, 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 Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
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 Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
. Ferrer then travelled to Miami to play in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where he was seeded sixth. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he defeated qualifier
Igor Kunitsyn Igor Konstantinovich Kunitsyn ( rus, И́горь Константи́нович Куни́цын, , ˈiɡərʲ kʊˈnʲitsɨn; born September 30, 1981) is a retired tennis player from Russia. He made it into the top 100 for the first time in ...
for a spot in the third round. In the third round, he defeated
Somdev Devvarman Somdev Kishore Devvarman (born 13 February 1985) is a former professional Indian tennis player. He hit the headlines for being the only collegiate player to have made three consecutive finals at the NCAA, winning back-to-back finals ...
, and then defeated Marcel Granollers for a spot in the quarterfinals. However, in the quarterfinals, he fell to
Mardy Fish Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.Fish won six tournaments on the mai ...
, 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, where he was seeded fourth. Due to his seeding, he received a bye into the second round, where he defeated fellow Spaniard
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
. 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 ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
, 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 a ...
for a spot in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semifinal. He dominated
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
in the semifinals to advance to his second Masters 1000 final, where he ultimately fell to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. 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 ...
, 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 Argentines, Argentine retired professional List of male tennis players, tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coach ...
, and
Victor Hănescu Victor Hănescu (born 21 July 1981) is a former Romanian tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world no. 26. Professional career Hănescu attained a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 on 6 July 2009. In a Davis Cup match again ...
in the third round to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
, and then defeated
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
for a spot in his third Barcelona final. However, in the final, he lost to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 Adrian Mannarino (born 29 June 1988) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 22, attained on 19 March 2018. He won his first ATP Tour singles title at the 2019 Rosmalen Open on grass. He is c ...
. He then went on to play
Sergiy Stakhovsky Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky ( uk, Сергій Едуардович Стаховський, ; born January 6, 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger le ...
, 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. At the French Open, Ferrer was seeded seventh. He advanced with easy wins over
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles titles ...
,
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
, and
Sergiy Stakhovsky Sergiy Eduardovych Stakhovsky ( uk, Сергій Едуардович Стаховський, ; born January 6, 1986) is a Ukrainian former professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and played mostly at the Challenger le ...
, before ultimately falling to ninth seed
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
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 Ryan Harrison (born May 7, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. Harrison has won one career ATP title in singles at the 2017 Memphis Open to go along with four in doubles, including the 2017 French Open. Before turning 16, Harriso ...
in five sets. He then defeated Karol Beck in straight sets to advance to the round of 16. However, he fell to eventual semifinalist Jo Wilfried Tsonga. 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 fro ...
as the second seed. He reached the semifinals, where he defeated
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
, but lost to
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 15 November 2010. His career highlights include rea ...
. 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 The 2011 Western & Southern Open, also known as the Cincinnati Open, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with s ...
as the fifth seed. He won his second-round match against
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
, before falling to
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
. 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 Ope ...
in four sets. At the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters, 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 ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
, former world no. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, 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 Ope ...
, and
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
on his way to the final that he lost to second seed Andy Murray in straight sets. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Ferrer's first match was against world no. 3 Andy 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 champi ...
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 Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
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 The Mubadala World Tennis Championship is a men's and women's singles Exhibition game, exhibition tournament. It has been held annually since 2009 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. History In Novemb ...
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 t ...
. He defeated world no. 6
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 ...
and world no. 2
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 Olivier Rochus (; born 18 January 1981) is a retired Belgian tennis player. He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus, also a former top-40 tennis player. Rochus won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles ...
. 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 Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...
, 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 tournament and won it, defeating 2011 champion and second seed
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
. 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 Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
in the final, losing only three games. At the
2012 Sony Ericsson Open The 2012 Sony Ericsson Open (also known as 2012 Miami Masters), a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 19 to April 1, 2012. It was the 28th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis C ...
, 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 ju ...
,
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
, and 2009 US Open champion
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
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 he was seeded fifth, but was upset in his second-round match by Brazilian
Thomaz Bellucci Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early i ...
. The following week, Ferrer reached the final at the 2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, after winning over
Filip Krajinović Filip Krajinović (, ; born 27 February 1992) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26 on 23 April 2018.
, Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
, and
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic (; sr, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian inactive professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. He then lost the final to defending champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. 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 1000 ...
and
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
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, Ferrer was seeded fifth and defeated
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
,
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
, 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 Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. At the
2012 French Open The 2012 French Open (also known as Roland Garros, after the famous French aviator) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 116th edition of the French Open, and took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 27 May until 11 ...
, Ferrer lost only 25 games defeating
Lukáš Lacko Lukáš Lacko (; born 3 November 1987) is a former professional Slovak tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is World No. 44, achieved in January 2013. Tennis career Juniors As a junior Lacko compiled a singles win–loss record ...
, Benoît Paire, Mikhail Youzhny, and Marcel Granollers on his way to the quarterfinals. There he won over world no. 4 Andy Murray and reached his first Roland Garros semifinal. He then lost to defending champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
, 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 Pierre-Ludovic Duclos-Lasnier, commonly referred to as Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, (born January 8, 1986) is a Canadian former professional tour tennis player. In 2014 he was sentenced to six-years in prison for attempting to have a sexual encounter ...
,
Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Martín Mayer (; ''Mayer'' locally or , ; born May 15, 1987) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. ...
, Igor Sijsling, Benoît Paire, and Philipp Petzschner 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 Ope ...
, and
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
. 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 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 by ...
by defeating Simone Bolelli. He eventually advanced to the finals, where he defeated countryman
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
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 Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
,
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 The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
title in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
at the end of the season, beating
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 ...
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 Cha ...
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 Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 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 final in Acapulco, winning only two games. He then suffered an early loss at the 2013 BNP Paribas Open, falling to Kevin Anderson in his first match of the tournament. He then reached the final of
Miami Masters 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 ...
after outlasting
Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...
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 May ...
, but lost to Andy 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 Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (; born 12 December 1982) is a retired Russian tennis player and current tennis coach. At age 12 he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singl ...
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 ...
. Ferrer reached his fifth final of the year at the Portugal Open 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, Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final without dropping a set. He defeated three of his compatriots, Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
, and
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
, all in straight sets, to reach his sixth Grand Slam semifinal. He then defeated sixth seed
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 ...
to reach the final, where he was defeated by defending champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
. 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 tournament ...
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 Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a former Belgian professional tennis player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed ''X-Man'', he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked ...
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 Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
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 t ...
and 2013 Western & Southern Open, winning only one match and losing to Russians Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the second round and
Dmitry Tursunov Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (; born 12 December 1982) is a retired Russian tennis player and current tennis coach. At age 12 he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singl ...
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 facing
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
, 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, where he was the defending champion after defeating world no. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
, 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 Daniel Brands (born 17 July 1987) is a German retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 51, achieved in August 2013. Professional career 2008 Brands began 2008 ranked No. 220. After a few unimpressive tou ...
in the second round of the Qatar Open. He reached the semifinals of the Heineken Open, where he was defeated by
Lu Yen-hsun Lu Yen-hsun (; born 14 August 1983) is a Taiwanese retired professional tennis player, who goes by the nickname Rendy Lu. He won the most titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in tennis history. His favorite surface is hardcourt, though several o ...
. 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 even ...
, where he lost to Tomas Berdych 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 quarterfinals, Ferrer retired against Kevin Anderson due to leg injury. Ferrer made his return in the
2014 Sony Open Tennis The 2014 Sony Open Tennis (also known as 2014 Miami Masters) was a professional men and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 30th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the Masters 1000 category on the 2014 AT ...
reaching fourth round before losing to
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
after squandering four match points. He made the semifinals of the 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. In the quarterfinals, he beat
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 The 2014 Madrid Open (also known as the Mutua Madrid Open for sponsorship reasons) was a professional tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from 3–11 May. It was the 13th edition of the ...
, where he lost to
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
. 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. 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 Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
, in four sets. Ferrer was defeated by world no.118 Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships ending his 10 grand slam quarterfinal streak. He made it to the quarterfinals in the 2014 Swedish Open before losing to
Carlos Berlocq Carlos Alberto Berlocq (; born February 3, 1983) is an Argentines, Argentine retired professional List of male tennis players, tennis player nicknamed ''Charly'', ''Panther'' and ''Warlocq''. His favourite surface was clay and he was last coach ...
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 Leonardo Martín Mayer (; ''Mayer'' locally or , ; born May 15, 1987) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 in June 2015 and world No. 48 in doubles in January 2019. ...
. 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 t ...
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. 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 Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...
. 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 a ...
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 and Andy 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. There, he was defeated by Andy 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 is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
. As a result, he failed to qualify for the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals, 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 ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in the group phase when the latter had to withdraw due to an injury. He lost his match against
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
in three sets and finished the year ranked no.10.


2015: Return to form and continued success

Ferrer began his 2015 season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, 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 champi ...
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 The 2015 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 19 January to 1 February 2015. It was the 103rd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Stan Wawrinka was the def ...
, he made it to the fourth round, losing to
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
. 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 (ATP) ...
and
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
, 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 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 Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
. 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 (ATP) ...
,
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 6 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in November 2016. His career hig ...
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 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 ...
and then lost to
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 Illya Vasylovych Marchenko ( uk, Ілля Васильович Марченко) (born 8 September 1987) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Marchenko turned professional in 2005 and had been playing at the Futures and Challengers level f ...
, 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 ...
as the top seed. Ferrer made it through to the semifinals after defeating qualifier Matthew Barton and
Lukáš Rosol Lukáš Rosol (; born 24 July 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. He competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Dosed ...
, but lost to
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
despite winning the first set. Ferrer then played in the first Grand Slam of the year at the Australian 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 t ...
in the first round. In the second round, Ferrer defeated
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
, 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 in four sets. Ferrer then arrived as second seed at the
Argentina Open 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 ...
. Ferrer defeated wildcard
Renzo Olivo Renzo Olivo (; born 15 March 1992) is an Argentine professional tennis player. He competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures, both in singles and doubles. He has a career-high singles ranking of World No. 78 achieved on 9 January ...
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 of ...
in three sets, before losing to
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
in straight sets in the semifinals. Ferrer then arrived at the Rio Open as the second seed. Ferrer defeated wildcard
Nicolás Jarry Nicolás Jarry Fillol (; born 11 October 1995) is a professional tennis player from Chile. He has won one tournament in singles and two in doubles on the ATP Tour. He achieved his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 38 in July 2019, after ...
in straight sets. Ferrer then came from a set down to defeat
Albert Ramos-Viñolas Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
. Ferrer's tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals when he lost to fifth seed
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest ...
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 to end his hard-court season. To begin the clay-court season, Ferrer competed at the Madrid Open, defeating both
Guillermo García-López Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People *Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player *Guillermo Ar ...
and
Denis Kudla Denis Kudla ( ; born August 17, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. A product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center, he has won eight Challenger singles titles and nine Challenger doubles titles in his career. His career-high ATP ...
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 champi ...
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 well, defeating Russia's
Evgeny Donskoy Evgeny Evgenyevich Donskoy ( rus, Евге́ний Евге́ньевич Донско́й, , ɪ̯ɪvˈɡʲenʲɪɪ̯ dɐnˈskoɪ̯; born 9 May 1990) is a Russian professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 65, ...
. He went on to take down
Juan Mónaco Juan Mónaco (; born 29 March 1984), nicknamed "Pico", is an Argentine former tennis player. He won nine singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2010 Shanghai Masters and the 2012 Miami Masters, and achieved a career-high singles ranking ...
and
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
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 to
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Tennis ca ...
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 Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986) is an Uzbek professional tennis player. He has won two singles titles (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham and 2017 Chengdu Open) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 in Aug ...
, 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 Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
. 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 (ATP) ...
in the second, before falling to an in-form
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
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 Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista A ...
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 The 2017 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts as part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2017 ATP World Tour and as part of the International Series on the 2017 WTA Tour. It took place in Båstad, Sweden, from 17 ...
, defeating Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. In the Cincinnati Masters, Ferrer defeated world No. 8
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest ...
to reach the semifinals where he lost to Nick Kyrgios in two tiebreak sets. In his final grand slam appearance, Ferrer was drawn to face compatriot and long-time rival
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
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 The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...
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 The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...
,
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 ...
,
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Acapulco,
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 ci ...
and
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
. At the
Miami Masters 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 ...
, Ferrer battled from a set down to defeat world number 3 Alexander Zverev. 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. 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 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
groundstroke In racket sports a groundstroke, or ground stroke, refers to a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced on the court. The term is commonly used in the sports of tennis and pickleball, and is counter to a volley shot ...
s 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 Darren Cahill (born 2 October 1965) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia. In addition, Cahill is a tennis analyst for the Grand Slam events on the US sports network ESPN and a coach with the Adidas Player Devel ...
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"
''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 Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
. 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 Spa ...
. 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 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 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