David Ferrer is regarded as one of the greatest players on the ATP Tour outside of the Grand Slam’s. The 33-year-old currently has 24 ATP titles and needs to claim two more to become the most decorated player in the modern era who hasn’t won a Grand Slam. He has featured in 50 consecutive Grand Slam main draws, which is the fifth highest in history. During his 50 appearances, Ferrer has reached at least the quarterfinal in 16 of them. His impressive Grand Slam consistency has ended this year when he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury.
Boasting this impressive record, Ferrer has confirmed that he intends to continue on the tour for the next few years. During a press conference in Malaysia, the Spaniard said that his motivation is as good as a 20-year-old.
“My fitness level is good…I want to play another two or three years more. My motivation level is the same as a 20-year-old player”. Ferrer said.
Ferrer is the top seed in this week’s Malaysia Open. In his first match he will play another veteran on the ATP Tour, 36-year-old Radek Štěpánek. He has played the Czech player 10 times since 2004 and currently has a head-to-head lead of 7-3.
This week is the fifth time that the world No.8 has participated in the tournament since 2009. His best result was reaching the semifinals twice (2010 and 2012). Speaking to Local media, he spoke of his optimism this week.
“It’s nice to come back to Kuala Lumpur again. I hope to have a good tournament.” he said.
This year Ferrer has claimed a trio of titles in Doha, Rio De Janeiro and Acapulco before he was plagued by an elbow injury, which forced him to miss a proportion of the season. After being sidelined from the tour for two months, Ferrer returned to action at the US Open where he reached the third round before losing to France’s Jeremy Chardy. Following his comeback tournament, he recently won two matches during Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark.
