The home town boy will be looking to the right the wrongs of last year’s shock final loss…
David Ferrer, the fiery little Spaniard who never knows when to quit, is a force to be reckoned with on home soil. As he returns to Valencia seeking after a shock loss in last year’s final, the local hero will be hoping hear the Valencians chanting his name once more as he celebrates victory in Spain.
There are very few thrills when watching Ferrer, but his relentless accuracy and excellent reading of the game makes him one of the best players on the tour.
Especially in his hometown tournament in Valencia. Ferrer has an exceptional record in this ATP 500 event, winning 29 matches out of 35 that he has played. He has also won this event three times already, once in 2008 when it used to be a clay court tournament, then again in 2010 and 2012 when it switched to its current playing surface, hard court.
On hard courts this year, Ferrer has managed to win 79% of his service games and an impressive 33% on his return games.
This year he has Berdych, Nishikori, Cilic and a certain Andy Murray all competing with him for the title. The Valencia Open always comes at a pivotal point in the calendar as it is seen as a great opportunity for players in the top ten who want to try and nail down a place at the World Tour Finals next month in London.
Despite the stiff competition this year, Ferrer will be buoyed by his recent three set victory over Andy Murray in Shanghai and will also be happy with his solid form on hard courts at the moment.
With thousands of passionate Spaniards cheering him on, Ferrer will look to make a positive start to this year’s tournament and dominate his matches from the base line in his usual effective style. A few routine victories followed by several fist pumps and cries of ‘vamos’ should get the crowd more than up for this one, as Ferrer looks to become ‘el rey de Valencia’ once more.
