Few can generate so much energy as Spaniard David Ferrer, and with the Big Four off the play court, Ferrer is still up and running
The big four are done for the season (money-spinning SouthAmerican exhibitions not included). But tennis’s fifth man plays on, which onlyseems fitting.
It is difficult to imagine David Ferrer at rest. One canpicture him jogging in place in front of the big screen at home in Spain,shoulders still hunched, hair still flapping, the couch behind him vacant.
“The day when I can’t summon all that energy, I won’t dothis anymore,” Ferrer said in a recent interview.
He had actually planned to play against type in 2012, theyear of his 30th birthday, and conserve some energy by skipping Davis Cupaltogether.
That strategy lasted just one round. By April, he was backin the Spanish lineup under his grateful new captain, Alex Corretja, for thequarterfinals in Castellon, near Ferrer’s training base. In September, hestayed true to the cause for the Davis Cup semi-finals, playing in Gijon,Spain, a few days after reaching the U.S. Open semifinals.
Now, just a few days after the ATP World Tour Finals inLondon, Ferrer will continue ripping returns and hunting down balls in thecorners as he attempts to lead Spain to a sixth Davis Cup title, this time onthe road against the Czech Republic.
“I’m a team player,” Ferrer, who has won three Cups withSpain, explained earlier this year. “I’ve always said that the Davis Cup hasgiven me my greatest satisfactions. It’s the event that’s spoken to me since Iwas little. I didn’t play the first round, and I didn’t think I’d play thesecond, but I spoke with Alex and I made a decision. I made it also because ofthe ambiance in the team. I knew Alex when he was a player. It was motivationalto me to share this year in Davis Cup.”
Although Ferrer has acknowledged that recovering from hisCup exertions has been a challenge in the second half of the season, they donot appear to have hurt his bottom line. This has been far and away his finestseason, as he has produced a 74-15 record and won a tour-high seven titles,including his first Masters 1000 tournament, in Paris this month. He alsoreached the quarterfinals or better in the four Grand Slam events, and mightwell have reached his first Grand Slam final if the wind had kept blowing andthe rain had held off an hour or two longer in his U.S. Open semifinal with arattled Novak Djokovic that was eventually suspended in New York.
He has added bite to his two-handed backhand and attackedmore effectively. But for all that improvement and achievement, Ferrer isstanding still in the rankings. He was No. 5 when the season began – behindDjokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal – and will be No. 5 whenit finishes despite making a legitimate run this fall at the No. 4 ranking,currently held by his compatriot Nadal.
Such is the somber side of this golden age in which Ferrertoils: Even in a year when Nadal missed half the season with knee problems,Ferrer still finds himself the second-ranked Spaniard because of Nadal’sbrilliant results in the six months he did play.
What continues to define his game are his fast-twitch,often-spectacular returns. He is again near the top of the tour returnrankings: fourth in percentage of points won against second serve; tied forthird in percentage of points won against first serve; and, most importantly,tied for third in return games won. The two men ahead of him in those last twocategories? Nadal and Djokovic, which is just another reminder of how criticalthe return is in this era.
“It’s been critical for me; I don’t have a serve likeIsner’s,” Ferrer laughed, referring to the towering American John Isner. “I’vehad the talent since I was very young. I think the return is very visual. It’sa lot to do with how quickly you process visual information. But of course italways helps to practice.”
