5 reasons why David Ferrer might retire Slam-less

David Ferrer – the classic grinder of modern day tennis!

He is gritty, feisty and can rally until the cows come home! He has been on the circuit for a really long time and has been ranked consistently in the Top 15 since 2002. He is the proverbial “Energizer Bunny” of men’s tennis who is known to wear down his opponents by moving them all over the court and is admired for his retrieval skills. He is an excellent sportsman and is very respectful to his opponents.

But David Ferrer – the Spaniard who has always played second fiddle to his fellow countryman and the King of Clay - Rafael Nadal, may just end up winless in Grand Slams.

Reason 1: No booming serve

In an era of the Karlovics and Isners of the world whose serves whiz past within the blink of an eye, Ferrer’s serve just does not ‘boom’ enough. He relies a lot on placement and accuracy as a result of which he gets no cheap points through aces. His compact body frame and sub 6-foot height probably does not help him generate the required pace for a thundering serve.

Reason 2: Lack of punch in ground strokes

While most of the top 20 players rely on ground strokes – powerful and deep, Ferrer’s ground strokes are not consistently deep. This allows players to either finish off points at will or close in at the net or just outrun him in a rally.

Reason 3: Dearth of variety in game

Most of the top 15 players have a repertoire of shots in their arsenal. On clutch points, players like Federer and Djokovic play serve and volley or just serve big to get themselves out of trouble. Ferrer prefers to stick to the baseline and tries to win points from there. This makes his pattern of play extremely predictable and hence vulnerable during crucial points of the match.

Reason 4: On the wrong side of 30!

The Great Roger Federer has managed to win just one Grand Slam after he turned 28! The legendary Pete Sampras also won his last US Open at 31. Ferrer, at 31, had his only chance to win a Grand Slam in 2013 when he reached the French Open finals. Alas! It was Nadal on the other side of the net, who shattered Ferrer’s dreams in 3 sets. Today, Ferrer at 33 is doing well enough to hang in among the top 10. However with the growing brigade of fresh legs and the current quartet of Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray, a Grand Slam win for Ferrer would be wishful thinking.

Reason 5: The Grand Slam Format

Hats off to Ferrer, who has remained injury free and has managed to play on the circuit for so long given his game style. He often goes out for a 5 km or a 10 km run with his coach after matches. No wonder his lungs do not let him down during those long matches. The best of 5-set format in Grand Slams is extremely challenging for any player, including Ferrer, whose style is based on grinding it out from the baseline.

In 2013, he reached the Finals of Roland Garros as he had managed to win almost 4 out of 6 matches in straight sets enroute to final. In the other Grand Slams, he has just a handful of Quarter Final and Semi Final appearances as he is out of gas by those stages of the tournament by virtue of playing long matches in the initial few rounds.

The number of Grand Slam hauls is widely regarded as the yardstick for measuring a tennis player’s greatness. It is quite unfortunate that a player of his caliber may have to end a stellar career without a Grand Slam under his belt. But till the day he is around, David Ferrer will be quite a treat for ardent tennis fans!