Nadal: Ferrer one of the best

Originally published on: 07/06/12 00:00

David Ferrer is “one of the best players in the world on every surface, especially clay”. Who says so? The king of clay himself, Rafa Nadal, who paid tribute to his Davis Cup colleague at the French Open, where Ferrer is through to the semi-finals for the first time following his victory over Andy Murray. The two Spaniards meet for the 20th time tomorrow, when Ferrer will attempt to add to his meagre four victories over his fellow countryman.
 
“His game bothers everybody,” Nadal said. “He’s a complete player. It's very difficult to play against him, because his movement is probably the best in the world and he's able to hit the ball very early a lot of the time.”
 
Ferrer beat Nadal in their first meeting on clay eight years ago, but has since lost to him 12 times in a row on the surface. They have met twice on clay this year, Nadal winning in straight sets on both occasions.
 
“He's a great player,” Nadal said. “Apart from the fact that we get on very well together, his tennis is impressive. He is very consistent. He gets exceptional results. He is very consistent and has been for many years. His season on clay has been great so far, except in Monte Carlo, when he was a bit tired.”
 
While Ferrer has won eight of his 14 titles on clay – including two this year at Buenos Aires and Acapulco – Murray insists that he is a dangerous opponent on all surfaces.
 
“I don’t necessarily think he gets the credit he deserves,” Murray said. “People almost think he’s just a workhorse. He does work incredibly hard, but he has many ways of hurting guys on the court. He’s been in the top five or six players in the world for the last three or four years. He’s very consistent and has a great game. He’s improved his serve a lot over the last few years and he’s physically very, very strong as well. Over five-set matches he’s very hard to break down.”

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