Davis Cup: The 'Shark' Ferrer bites India

NEW DELHI: If David Ferrer started playing tennis just a decade later he might well have been very close to the top of the rankings chart. Unlucky enough he has had to ply his trade in an era that has featured the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and now Andy Murray.
The Spaniard from Xabia, who turned pro at the turn of the century, was as high as world No. 3 in 2013-14 even as Federer-Nadal rivalry was at full swing.At the pinnacle of his abilities, he reached the French Open final in 2013 - which everyone would have expected him to win sometime or the other.
Unfortunately for Ferrer, he holds the ignominious record of winning the most matches on Tour without becoming a Grand Slam champion, surpassing Brian Gottfried's 22-year-old record. In Davis Cup singles ties, Ferrer improved his record to 26-4 after a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 win over India's Saketh Myneni - which also includes a 16-match unbeaten streak on clay courts.
All the talk in the build-up to this World Group Play-off tie has so far centered around Nadal but Ferrer is more than happy to take a back seat. "This week I have practiced really hard with the team and really sweated it out. The courts here are so much faster which doesn't really suit my game but I have managed to adapt myself," Ferrer said after his comprehensive win on Friday evening.
At 5 foot 9", Ferrer is not the tallest of tennis players on the tennis circuit, he doesn't possess the biggest of serves or a forehand ala Nadal. What is does do is get the ball back into the court. At 32 per cent of return games over his career, Ferrer can match a great like Andre Agassi and all that was on show on Friday as he broke 28-year-old Myneni no less than eight times.
"It was not an easy match by any means. I managed to play consistently and with this humidity it was always going to be a battle," the man his friends call the 'Shark' said.
Spain have had a wealth of talent over the past decade with the likes of Nadal, Ferrer himself, Feliciano Lopez, Alex Corretja and Nicholas Almagro and they are confident that the supply line is not going to ease up. "In the last 20 years we have produced some really great players. We still have a couple of top 10 players in the rankings. I don't know who the next great will be but Spain definitely has a great future," he said.