David Ferrer became the first Spanish winner of the Paris Masters tournament on Monday morning (AEDT) as he beat unseeded Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-3.
It was the in-form 30-year-old Ferrer's seventh ATP title of the season - his first ever Masters win in his fourth appearance in a final - and set him up ideally for this week's season ending World Tour finals in London.
"It is a dream realised to win a Masters event," said Ferrer, who was succeeding where his more celebrated compatriot Rafael Nadal failed to do in the 2007 final.
"There was Rome, Monte-Carlo and Shanghai ...(the three finals defeats). This time it is a happy ending and the ultimate reward of the best season of my career."
For Janowicz it was a disappointing end to his fairytale run in what was his first appearance in such a prestigious event after mainly plugging his way round the second tier Challenger circuit.
However, while he had claimed among other scalps US Open champion Andy Murray on his way to the final, Ferrer never allowed him a look in as he tried to emulate the last qualifier to win a Masters event, Albert Porta in Hamburg in 2001.
For once the 21-year-old's service let him down as he had six double faults and only got 57 per cent of his first serves in.
Ferrer broke the Pole at 5-4 in the first set and had little problem in the second to wrap up the match and his 17th career title in just under an hour-and-a-half.
Janowicz's barnstorming run to the final secured a place in the world's top 30 and a seeded place in the Australian Open, the grand slam tournament he skipped in January because of a lack of cash.
"I have just become a top-30 player so I think I will not have to worry any more about money and I will have good opportunities to fight for an even better ranking," he said after the match.
"I'm going to be seeded in Australia, that is a huge help. In the small ATP tournaments sometimes I will have a bye in the first round.
"This is a good opportunity to work even harder and to fight for everything. Maybe one day I will become a top-10 player in the world."
AFP/Reuters
Tags: tennis, sport, france, poland, spain First posted November 05, 2012 08:24:42
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