Former Roland Garros finalist David Ferrer has described his upcoming showdown with Rafael Nadal at the Barcelona Open as a ‘gift’ as he approaches the end of his career.
The 37-year-old wild card will take on the top seed on Thursday after producing straight sets wins over Mischa Zverev and 15th seed Lucas Pouille. Barcelona is Ferrer’s penultimate tournament before he retires from the sport next moth. This year is his 15th appearance at the tournament.
“I’m happy because I’ve won two games (matches) and I’m enjoying myself.” Marca quoted Ferrer as saying. “I’ll try to do what I can and try to win, playing against Rafa would be a gift for me. We already played in New York and I hope this time I can finish the game.
The Ferrer-Nadal rivalry has extensive history in Barcelona. They have clashed four times in the final of the tournament between 2008-2012 with Nadal winning all of those matches. Overall, Ferrer trails Nadal 6-25 in their head-to-head and last defeated him at the 2014 Monte Carlo Masters.
“He’s a good friend, one of the best players that we have been watching the last 15 years. It’s going to be a special one, and he’s playing well,” Nadal said of Ferrer.
In previous years, many would expect Nadal to cruise to victory against the veteran. However, the Spaniard has experienced a turbulent clay-court season so far. In his opening match against Leonardo Mayer, Nadal dropped a set in the tournament for the first time since 2015 before fighting back to win. The world No.2, who has been troubled by injury over recent months, is yet to find his best form.
“The job is to find myself. During the last 18 months, I have had too many stops and ups and downs, non-tennis related. And when that happens, it’s hard to pick up rhythm and continuity.” The defending champion told reporters earlier this week.
In contrast, Ferrer has insisted that he is ‘feeling good.’ Like Nadal, he has endured his fair share of physical problems in recent time.
“Physically I’m feeling good, and when I’m preparing for a few tournaments, the physical problems are less, technically I’m fine.” He said.
Earlier this year at the Miami Masters, Ferrer recorded his first win over a top five player since 2014 when he defeated Alexander Zverev. Now with a chance to upset Nadal on clay, he has insisted that he isn’t looking too much into the match. Ferrer has defeated Nadal three times when he was world No.1.
“I do not dream anything, I do not think or expect anything.” He stated. “I try to enjoy what I am doing the match by match without thinking about it. Things have come out better than expected, and on Thursday I have the opportunity to play on the centre court and enjoy.”
The upcoming match will be the third to be played on the premier court on Thursday.
