David Ferrer turns 37 today and the Spaniard is playing his farewell tour of the ATP circuit. He has been on the tour since last 18 years and the 37-year-old just got better and better. Ferrer is one of the most respected players on tour. He was known for his fighting spirit, consistency, and fitness. He had one of the fastest footspeed on the tour with undivided determination all through his career.
Here are some of the major highlights of his career-
Ferrer turned professional in the year 2000, ending the year as world no. 419. He won his first challenger title in Sopot in 2001. But the 2001 season was not a good season for the Spaniard.
He started to rise from the 2002 season, winning his first ATP final in Bucharest. Ferrer was known as a 'clay-court specialist’ as all the 10 wins on the ATP tour and 34 wins on the Challenger tour came on clay in 2002. He showed his dominance on the red-clay after beating the then world no. 1 Andre Agassi at the 2003 Rome Masters. The year saw him entering the four grand slams and six ATP Masters series event.
Ferrer entered the top-50 in the ATP rankings at the end of 2004. His best performance came in Buenos Aires, Valencia, and Hamburg where he reached the quarterfinals but couldn't get through the semis. He ended the year world no. 49.
Ferrer pressed the accelerator in 2005, reaching the semifinals of Miami Masters where he lost to his compatriot Rafael Nadal. He also made it to the quarterfinals in Madrid and Paris Masters, impressing the world with his performance.
He broke into the top-10 after reaching the quarterfinals in Auckland in 2006. The Spaniard conquered his second ATP title at Stuttgart in the same year and third in Auckland, the following year. David showed the world that he is not just a clay-court specialist after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open 2007. He upset second seed Rafael Nadal on the course to the semifinals but lost to the third seed Novak Djokovic in the last four. He continued his momentum in Tokyo, winning the third ATP title of his career. David entered the top-5 after reaching the finals of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup. He was the only player to have a perfect record in the round-robin stage of the tournament.
The Spaniard helped his country to win two consecutive titles at the Davis Cup. His first grass court title came at s’-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
David Ferrer conquered his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome after defeating Rafael Nadal in the finals. Ferrer had lost multiple times to Nadal in the finals and so this was a special victory for the Spaniard.
The Spaniard captured a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics in the doubles event. He also won the Paris Masters in the same year. In 2013, he reached his first grand slam finals at the French Open showing his dominance on clay. He also reached 3 Masters 1000 finals. With his incredible performance, Ferree reached a career-high ranking at no. 3 in the world. He continued to perform well with consistency and unrelenting a success.
But as he began to age, his performance declined after 2016, though his determination and passion for the game remained the same. He last won a title at the 2017 Swedish Open.
On 15th August 2018, the Spaniard announced with a heavy heart that the 2019 season will be his last. Since he has been receiving tributes from all around the world and from a various tournament where he is participating. He will play his last tournament at home in Barcelona and Madrid. Barcelona is all set to pay a tribute to the unsung hero of Spain.
Ferrer has never compromised with tennis. He has been fighting to win every match from the start till the end. He secured his first win against the top-3 in the last 5 years at the Miami Masters where he defeated Alexander Zverev. His career was overshadowed with the brilliance of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. But still, he could manage to impact his presence in the sport. He truly is a warrior and one of the most loved sportsmen in the world. David Ferrer will surely be missed by all the fans around the world. It will be a huge loss for Tennis as it would be difficult to produce a player and most importantly a sportsman like him. The only thing we can do is to bid him a marvellous farewell for giving so much to the sport.
Happy Birthday to the little beast!!!