• ATP Tour

Ferrer fails in final to boost Nadal hopes

ESPN staff
May 5, 2013
Stanislas Wawrinka denied David Ferrer in his ranking aim © AP
Enlarge

David Ferrer failed to maximise his ranking points from the Portugal Open on Sunday, as he was swept away in the final by Stanislas Wawrinka.

Ferrer is currently the world No. 4, narrowly ahead of Rafael Nadal with just weeks to go until the French Open.

With tournament organisers at Roland Garros confirming Nadal will not receive special treatment when it comes to the seedings for the second grand slam of the year, despite his status as a seven-time champion, Ferrer knows he can make his run to the semi-finals in Paris slightly easier by staying above his compatriot in the rankings ahead of the tournament.

Victory on Sunday would have helped his chances of achieving that - he only took a wildcard in the event at late notice - but Ferrer found himself no match for Wawrinka, with the Swiss romping to an eventual 6-1 6-4 victory.

That means Nadal still has a slight chance to pass Ferrer in the rankings before Roland Garros, but he will need to go deep at both upcoming events in Madrid and Rome - while hoping his compatriot falters early on both occasions.

Ferrer beat Wawrinka in a Buenos Aires final earlier in the year, but Wawrinka gained revenge this time around - winning the first five games of the contest with relative ease and retaining control of matters from that point onwards.

Elsewhere, the BMW Open in Munich was won by Tommy Haas, who defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 7-6(3) in an all-German affair.

The 35-year-old Haas, chasing a 14th career title, broke once in the first set before dominating the second-set tiebreaker to claim victory in an hour and 23 minutes.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close