Ferrer Not Done, Claims ATP Bastad Clay Crown
Former French Open finalist David Ferrer had not won an ATP title in two years and was generally written off, but the Spaniard showed he is not done.
ADHEREL
At 35 years of age Ferrer raised the SkiStar Swedish Open in Bastad on Sunday after defeating Alexandr “The Dog” Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4, clinching victory on his seventh match point.
“It’s been two years that I haven’t won a tournament, so I’m really happy for this win,” said Ferrer, who won his 27th career title. “I was a little nervous up 5-1 and Alexandr played without pressure. I tried to be focused on every point, but when I had all those match points I was thinking too much.”
The former world No. 3 had last won a title at Vienna in 2015.
“I am going week by week, match by match and I still have the motivation. I know it will be very difficult to get back to the Top 10, but if I stay competitive like this week, I will play next year for sure. I still enjoy playing tennis, but it’s different as I am 35 years old.”
Ferrer with the title will be on the verge of cracking the Top 30 again. He joined Swedes Magnus Gustafsson (4), Mats Wilander (3) and Bjorn Borg (3) as the only players to win the Bastad title on three or more occasions in the Open Era.
Ferrer improved to 27-25 in career finals, while The Dog dropped to 3-5.
“I want to congratulate David, he didn’t give me many chances,” said Dolgopolov. “Thanks to everyone here in Bastad for the warm welcome. It’s my first time here and I reached the final, so hopefully I will be back.”
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