David Ferrer Is Re-Emerging as a Contender Early in the 2015 Season
He's been counted out so many times in the past.
Just a clay-court specialist. Not tall enough. Too old. Best days behind him.
David Ferrer has heard it all. But as the naysayers try to pen his tennis obituary, he just keeps playing—and winning.
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Ferrer, who turns 33 on April 2, is at an age considered ancient in his sport, when many players have already hung up their racket. But the diminutive Spaniard is producing stellar results to start 2015.
Already, Ferrer has stormed to a 16-1 record with two titles in three tournaments. Because of that hot streak, he's climbing back in the rankings and currently sits at No. 9 only a few hundred points behind Stan Wawrinka for seventh in the world.
The last time Ferrer found himself outside the top 10 was way back in October 2010. Over the last few years, he's firmly entrenched himself among the elite in the game. In 2014, however, his play dipped. He won only one title last year (Buenos Aires), suffering a second-round defeat at Wimbledon and a third-round loss at the U.S. Open. Against fellow top-10 players, he went a sobering 1-9.
Sure, there were finals appearances in Hamburg, Cincinnati and Vienna. But he dropped all three. Even a consistent run at Masters Series events wasn't enough to prime him for Grand Slam success. As a result, his ranking plummeted from third to 10th by the end of 2014.
Ferrer had hit a wall, and other players started overtaking him. He needed a change.
That change came with the appointment of Paco Fogues.
After leaving his coach of 15 years, Javier Piles, at the end of 2013, Ferrer worked with Jose Atur last season. The partnership didn't prove especially fruitful, and they parted after the U.S. Open.
Last fall, Ferrer reached out to friend and former player Fogues, who officially signed on as the Spaniard's new coach. In their short time together, Ferrer hasn't been shy about expressing his confidence in the move, as his comments illustrate (via Chris de Waard):
"Ferrer on working with Paco Fogues: ''I am 32 years old now, but in the off-season I have improved things which I thought to be impossible''
— Chris de Waard (@TennisPurist) December 29, 2014"
One area where he's improved recently is his technique on serves and overheads. Fogues suggested Ferrer lift his elbow higher on both shots, thereby raising his point of impact and smoothing out his motion. While just a subtle adjustment, it shows how even late in his career Ferrer is willing to try new things and adapt.
His renewed focus has translated well to the court so far this year.
In Doha, Ferrer survived a tight semifinal against big-serving Ivo Karlovic to reach the final. There he played an impressive match to vanquish Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 for a season-opening title.
He traveled to the Australian Open full of confidence. But after surviving four-set matches against Thomaz Bellucci, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Gilles Simon to begin the tournament, Ferrer faced an in-form Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and lost in straight sets.
There's no shame in losing to a player of Nishikori's caliber. Still, he had to be disappointed with the way he performed on that stage. Another defeat to a younger, top-ranked man paved the way for more skepticism.
Ferrer is too strong to let a single result sink him. One of the fittest and hardest-working guys on tour, he's also a tenacious competitor and refuses to yield easily. Those qualities served him well last week in Brazil.
At the Rio Open, Ferrer shook off his Aussie woes and stormed to the title. In the final, he swept past Fabio Fognini—who conquered Rafael Nadal in the semifinals—for an easy 6-2, 6-3 win. He needed just 83 minutes to end the match and lift his second trophy of the season.
With that result, he's already doubled his output from last year. And we're only two months into 2015. He has another golden opportunity this week in Acapulco to add a third prize, though he may have to meet Nishikori in the final. Another strong finish will only add to the momentum he's building.
When the calendar turns to March, that's when the tennis season really heats up. Over the next two months, there are five Masters Series events leading up to the French Open. Importantly for Ferrer, the European clay-court swing is just around the corner.
Ferrer has found his most consistent results on the red dirt. He excels at Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, with his strong baseline game and court movement proving a perfect fit for the surface.
Except when he's squared off against his compatriot and tormentor, Nadal, who's won 18 of their 20 meetings on clay.
But Nadal hasn't played anywhere close to his best tennis in 2015. He's more vulnerable than ever right now as his body continues to break down. As Nadal tries to work himself back into shape before the French Open, a window has opened for Ferrer to win some key tournaments which have previously eluded him.
If the current state of his game is any indication, there will be more wins and trophies coming to Ferrer this spring. So much for being over the hill. By now we should know better than to doubt Ferrer's ability to defy expectations.
All statistics courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com unless otherwise noted.
Joe Kennard is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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