As a player, David Ferrer was never able to win the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Barcelona. As tournament director, he can look forward to a successful week.
von tennisnet.com
last edited: April 16, 2024, 8:02 a.m
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David Ferrer still an active player in Barcelona
During his active career, David Ferrer failed in the Barcelona final four times against Rafael Nadal. There may have even been a year or two in which Ferrer wished that his legendary compatriot would forego a start in the Catalan capital. 2024 is certainly not one of them.
After Carlos Alcaraz’s cancellation, it is now up to Rafael Nadal to give the 500 event the necessary local shine. Nadal will face the Italian Flavio Cobolli this Tuesday. And nobody knows how the matador from Manacor is really doing.
In 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012 the final in Barcelona was Nadal against current tournament director Ferrer, only once did the latter come close to success. “In 2008 I lost in three sets, but I was far from beating Rafa,” Ferrer told the ATP website. But as we know, you learn more from defeats than from victories.
Ferrer learns from Nadal
“Rafa has made me a better player, no doubt about it,” Ferrer continued. “He made me more ambitious and made me want to improve and develop my game. I saw that in him. And since Rafa is such a special player, I wanted to copy things from him so that I could become a more consistent player.”
David Ferrer feels comfortable with his new job. “My role is to make sure that the players feel at home.” After all, there are many factors that play a role in this – such as accommodation for the families, transport, game schedules. In any case, he, David Ferrer, is grateful that he is allowed to do this job.
Here is the individual tableau in Barcelona
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