He held his head high until the end, just as he has done throughout his career, fighting for every ball as if it were the last. This is the memory David Ferrer leaves behind on the professional tour, digging deep in the Manolo Santana Stadium against Alexander Zverev to say his final goodbye to professional tennis in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open (6-4, 6-1).
Wednesday the 8th of May will be a day that will never be forgotten in Spanish tennis, as it was the day the Alicante native played the final match of his career. The Caja Mágica’s defending champion managed to absorb a barnstorming start from Ferrer, who took a 4-1 lead. But five consecutive games from the German turn the first set on its head (6-4). In the second he was unable to find any answers to the dominance of the younger Zverev brother.
The player from Javea leaves in his wake 1,111 matches played in 20 years on tour, with a total of 734 victories, 12th on the list of all-time winners, and 27 titles that put him third on the list of Spanish players in the Open Era, with only Manuel Orantes and Rafael Nadal ahead of him.
Ferrer is saying farewell after seven years in the top 10, peaking at number 3 in the ATP Ranking. In 2019 he still had the same competitive spirit that has set him apart throughout his career, winning at least one match in all six tournaments he chose to say goodbye to the ATP Tour (Auckland, Buenos Aires, Acapulco, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid).
