Ferrer's Beijing Bid Off To Winning Start
Ferrer's Beijing Bid Off To Winning Start
Fifth seed seeking first final of 2016
A runner-up showing at the China Open six years could be David Ferrer’s lucky omen this week as the Spaniard seeks to reach his first ATP World Tour final of 2016. On Monday, he made the first step towards doing so with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.
The fifth seed, having slipped to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Uruguayan to 4-0 in what was the pair’s first clash on hard court. In a match, which featured only one break point between the two, it was Ferrer who made the most of his sole opportunity.
He broke to take the opening set and secured the result on his second match point in the tie-break against an opponent with two ATP World Tour titles and two runner-up appearances to his name in 2016.
A four-time ATP World Tour semi-finalist this season, Ferrer has had solid runs in Beijing before, finishing runner-up in 2010 and reaching the semi-finals last year – both times losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic. He next meets either Italian Fabio Fognini or Serbian Viktor Troicki.