David Ferrer has vowed to continue playing tennis for as long as he is motivated to do so after ending his two-year title drought in Bastad.
The 35-year-old claimed his third Swedish Open title after defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4, in the final. Ferrer is now the most decorated active player on the tour after the ‘Big Four’ with a total of 27 ATP titles.
Ferrer’s triumph comes after what has been a lacklustre start to the season. During the first six months of 2017 he only managed to reach one tournament semifinal at the Estoril Open. As a consequence, the Spaniard dropped down to 46th in the world. His lowest position since March 2005.
“It has been difficult, you know, because I was always a consistent player, competitive. I have been seven or eight years in the top ten. When it all changed it was not an easy one, but I accepted my new ranking.” Ferrer said about his start to the season.
Despite the far from perfect start, Ferrer has no intentions of hanging up his racket yet. His triumph in Bstad proved that he still has the ability to play at the top level. Furthermore, there is an increasing trend in players playing later in their careers. In the ATP top-100 this week, he is the fourth oldest player after Feliciano Lopez, Roger Federer and Ivo Karlovic.
Ferrer remains candid about what the future holds for him. He has no timeline set out for his career. Instead, he is just going to take things step-by-step without thinking about retirement. Hinting that he could play another season in 2018.
“I don’t know, I am going week by week, match by match. I still have the motivation to play tennis.” He said.
“I don’t want to think about the future. I know it is going to be very difficult to be a top-10, but if I still have the chance to be competitive like this week (in Gstaad) then I will play next year for sure.”
The driving force behind Ferrer’s longevity is his enjoyment of the game. He is not the first player to say this. Federer once said ‘As long as I enjoy playing, why would I stop doing something I enjoy doing?’
The next challenge for Ferrer will be this week’s Hamburg Open. He is seeded eighth in the tournament and will play Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round.
