Tennis World english 39 Tennis World EN 39 | Page 22

Farewell
To
Ferrer?

by Giorgio Giannaccini

Ferrer
has
been
defying
age
and
conventional
tennis
wisdom
for
years,
but
it
seems
that
time
is
finally
catching
up
with
him.

After
being
a
constant
presence
in
the
Top
10
for
the
better
part
of
a
decade,
the
best
days
of
David
Ferrer
may
be
behind
him.
Currently
at
21
in
the
rankings,
the
Spaniard
has
endured
a
forgettable
year
thanks
to
injury
and
inconsistent
form,
and
one
wonders
if
he
will
ever
be
able
to
play
consistently
at
a

high
level
again,
given
how
physically
demanding
his
style
of
play
is.

It
is
a
decline
that
is,
perhaps,
long
overdue,
given
the
extreme
physical
demands
of
the
modern
ATP
Tour
and
its
long
season.
Ferrer
has
been
the
very
picture
of
commitment
and
perseverance
for
the
last
ten
years,
and
has
had
to
work
harder
than
any
of
his
peers
to
maintain
his
position.
The
Spaniard
is
the
only
player
1.75m
or
shorter
that
has
been
in
the
Top
10
in
that
time
(Davydenko
and
Nishikori
are
the
next
shortest,
both
at
1.78m),
and
that
is
thanks
purely
to
the
fact
that
he
puts
himself

through
an
almost
inhuman
training
regimen.

Even
before
the
season
started,
Ferrer
intimated
that
his
age
was
an
increasingly
difficult
hurdle
to
overcome.
His
words
seemed
to
have
been
prophetic,
since
despite
a
relatively
light
schedule
(“only”
23
tournaments
and
Davis
Cup
duty),
he
still
did
not
manage
to
stay
healthy
and
in
form.
He
ended
the
season
with
36
wins
and
22
losses,
a
truly
miserable
outcome
compared
to
the
previous
year,
when
he
won
55
matches
and
lost
just
16.
He
also
did
not
win
a
title
this
year,
compared
to
five
in
2015.