David Ferrer- The unsung hero of Tennis!
In sport and in life too, we come across many unsung heroes, who at times, seem to be completely overshadowed by the stalwarts, either by their countrymen in sporting set up or by their colleagues in a corporate set up. One such an example is the unsung hero of Spanish tennis and tennis in general, David Ferrer.
Having had to share the generation alongside a legend of Spanish tennis Rafael Nadal, one could say David Ferrer never got the due attention he deserved. No wonder Nadal himself admitted that many lesser players than Ferrer had the luck to win at least one Grand Slam but his compatriot was indeed unfortunate to go Grand Slam less throughout his career.
Ferrer, who had to pull out from his last Grand Slam match appearance at last year’s US Open due to an injury, which coincidentally was also against his friend and countryman Nadal, is perhaps singing his last swansong of his career at Miami Open.
Ferrer, who earlier announced that he would be retiring this year at the end of Madrid Open, played two scintillating and breathtaking matches in a row against Sam Querrey and Alexander Zverev to reach the Round 3 in Miami.
Ferrer, who will turn 37 this April, looked dominant on court in Miami and looked more agile than his 15 years younger opponent in Zverev, turning the clock back to his younger days, putting a mighty fine exhibition when no one expected of him.
David Ferrer, who has a tremendous all-round game and solid temperament, however, never made it big in spite of having such a huge potential. Maybe he found himself caught in an extremely competitive generation of Tennis which saw all the lesser players being comprehensively engulfed by the trio-Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Despite injuries and heart-breaking losses throughout his incredible career, David Ferrer never gave up. Being the optimist and opportunist, he welcomed each day with a rejuvenated hope of making today better than yesterday. He always was an eternal trier and gave it his all, 100 percent, whenever he held a tennis racquet in his hand.
Being from Spain, just as all other Spaniards, David Ferrer had his best record on clay as compared to other surfaces and a place in 2013 Rolland Garros final to go alongside 13 career titles on clay is a testimony to his dominance on clay.
David Ferrer may not have won many titles or even a single Grand Slam in his career but he has already won our hearts with few of his performances this year, just like the one against Zverev in Miami, where he overcame the next gen star comprehensively even after losing the first set 2-6.
It’s difficult to imagine Ferrer winning any title before he walks into the sunset, but, we can certainly expect the Spaniard to have a final hurrah. It would indeed be amazing to see Ferrer pouring magic through his racquet on his beloved clay for one final time, putting an exhibition of his vintage performance prior to saying goodbye to the tennis world!