Ferrer beats Almagro for 13th title

Updated February 27, 2012 12:50:05

World number five David Ferrer claimed his 13th career title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over fellow Spaniard and 2011 winner Nicolas Almagro in the Buenos Aires Open final on Monday morning (AEDT).

Top seed Ferrer, runner-up to compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2010, recovered from dropping his only set of the tournament to improve his head-to-head record against world number 11 Almagro to 9-0.

"I'm really happy, this was an account I had pending. This title is something very important to me," Ferrer said in a courtside interview.

"I'll be back, for sure," Ferrer told fans at the claycourt tournament at the Buenos Aires Lawn tennis Club, confirming he would return to defend the title next year.

Almagro, looking to repeat his back-to-back wins in Brazil and Argentina last year having retained his Brazil Open title in Sao Paulo last week, made the better start and broke Ferrer in the third game.

Serving for the set, the second seed found himself 40-15 down but worked his way back and took the game with his first set point, slamming down one of his 36 aces in the tournament.

Ferrer, who had the easier passage through the semi-finals after beating local favourite David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday, gradually wrested control from Almagro after earning a break in the fourth game of the second set.

He broke again in the third and fifth games of the deciding set and won on his second match point when Almagro went wide with a backhand down the line.

The 29-year-old Ferrer said his experience had helped him through.

"With Nico they are always very physical matches. With the passing of the years one doesn't have that anxiety of youth," he said.

World number 11 Almagro, who has 11 titles all on clay, said Ferrer deserved his victory as the better player on the day.

"I played pretty well. Against another rival I might have won," the 26-year-old told a news conference.

"At no time did I lose my confidence in my tennis. This shows how well David is playing.

"I'm perfect physically. I work hard to be in good shape after difficult matches like yesterday's," added Almagro, who needed three sets to overcome Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in the last four.

"(Ferrer) went up a gear and I couldn't counter that.

Reuters

Tags: sport, tennis

First posted February 27, 2012 09:18:12

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Ferrer and Almagro charge ahead in Auckland

Updated January 11, 2012 20:05:22

Spanish guns David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro were firing on all cylinders at the Auckland ATP International, blasting their way into the quarter-finals with ease.

The top two seeds were making their first appearance in the tournament after first-round byes and wasted no time stamping their mark, and showing impressive form ahead of the season's first major starting in Melbourne on Monday.

Ferrer, the world number five, raced past Lukas Rosol from the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2, while Almagro, 10th in the world, beat Colombian Santiago Giraldo by the same margin.

Ferrer will play Alejandro Falla in the quarter-finals after the Colombian continued his charmed run with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win over Potito Starace of Italy following his first-round win over seventh-seed American Donald Young.

Almagro found Giraldo difficult to shake off in the opening games with the match going to 4-4 in the first set, but when the Spaniard found his rhythm it was one-way traffic to the end.

"I think I served really well and played well on the forehand and backhand," said Almagro, as he immediately switched his attention to a looming quarter-final encounter with German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

"Tomorrow is another fight and I will see what I can do. It is going to be a tough match, and the only thing I want to do is be focused on that match right now."

Eighth-seed Kohlschreiber, who has a 3-3 record against Almagro, survived a three-setter for the second time in three days when he dropped the first set against American Ryan Harrison before bouncing back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Despite the physical toll of the two-hour encounter, further lengthened by a 35-minute rain break, Kohlschreiber says he is glad to have the extended time on court early in the season.

"It could be easier but at the moment this is exactly what I need," he said.

"At the start of the second and third set I played well and aggressively and it was a very tough fight today. I felt comfortable with my game from the baseline."

Frenchman Benoit Paire, who beat former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in the first round continued his giant-killing run, beating fourth-seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, new-zealand

First posted January 11, 2012 20:05:22

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