Is Daveed Ferrer the Future of TENNIS?!

[Kieran]

Ferrer is a different level to Tsonga, plainly. I'd put del Potro up there too, because at least he has ambition and nerve, he's won a slam and could do so again, if everything comes together for him.

The likes of Tsonga, Berdych, Wawrinka, wouldn't win a slam if they were the only ones entered...

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

^ i've said it time and time again - i'm afraid you might be reading too much into DelPo's win. just because he has done it does not mean he can do it again any more than the likes of Berdych, who came just as close a number of times. not saying that DelPo was lucky or Berd unlucky, but that we can't judge their whole potentials on the base, and i won't call JMDP a mental giant on the base of one unbelievable second week at the USO.

take the IW final for example. wouldn't that have been very much something Tomas would do (or has done in the past, eg Madrid '12)?

i think the difference - in potential - is not as big as people think, and unfortunately, JMDP's physical issues are at the very least every bit as detrimental to his future chances as that big ol' problem that sits above Berd's shoulders.

 

[Kieran]

I think there's a huge diff between del Potro and Berdych, buddy. I just can't see any conditions where Berdych could do what del Potro did in 2009. But you could be right about my overrating that. I don't know, I think injury has certainly affected del Potros career negatively, much the same as Rafa. He's a guy with a strong mind, much more so than others we talk about, and this is the secret coca cola ingredient that wins majors...

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

you could be right but answer me this: casting game aspects aside as much as possible and concentrating on the mindset, as you did - how do you think JMDP would have fared if instead of an overly satisfied RF at the USO '09, his GS final opponent would've been a '10 Rafa at Wimbledon?

 

[Kieran]

Well, grass is different. But he'd have done better than Berdych. It would probably have been like the 2011 match in the fourth round. Del Potro has more warrior skin than Tomas, imho, and sits more comfortably at the higher table...

 

[herios]

I'm willing to place Ferrer in it's own unique ranking. herios it's absolutely right when it comes to Ferrer not belonging to the likes of Berdych and Tsonga. The guys is actually getting BETTER as a player, he has 6 Slams SF and numerous finals/SF at ATP 1000 level.

El Dude has a point when it comes to how much of a challenge can Ferrer present to the other 3? Because of their games, all three of them are horrible match-ups for him. Federer owns him as well but it would be intriguing to see them play on slow surfaces........Federer hasn't look good in a long time and it's reason for concern.

So, we can call Ferrer "little big one"........the best among the rest.

Thank you Hunting, this is exactly how I asses him, below the top 4 and above the rest in his own league all alone.
And one more thing though, he has a losing record to the top 4, but there is an exception there, he is better than Murray on clay. He has a winning record against him on that surface and accomplished a lot more than him as well on it.

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Well, grass is different. But he'd have done better than Berdych. It would probably have been like the 2011 match in the fourth round. Del Potro has more warrior skin than Tomas, imho, and sits more comfortably at the higher table...

Physical issues here or there, when it comes to unfulfilled potential, Delpotro has more room to go than Berdych and Tsonga. Not just in years (3 years younger), but also due to his mental toughness.
I think at one point things will line up again for him, hopefully in the next 2 years or so, before the younger generation of talented ones are catching up with the top 10.

 

[isabelle]

Daveed could be N°3 after Wimbly if Olderer drops N°5 ??
Hope so, Daveed really deserves to be top 3 once in his life

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

^ uhm, "Olderer" is not the (only) one that our beloved youngster needs to worry about if he wants to get to #3. basically, he'll have to go further than Rafa, or he'll be passed (i'm sure some of our stat/math monsters could break it down more precisely, but i think that's the gist).

 

[herios]

^ uhm, "Olderer" is not the (only) one that our beloved youngster needs to worry about if he wants to get to #3. basically, he'll have to go further than Rafa, or he'll be passed (i'm sure some of our stat/math monsters could break it down more precisely, but i think that's the gist).

Depends how far Rafa will go. Considering that Rafa will be seeded 5, there is a real possibility, he'll be stopped in the QF. And David being seeded 4, if he gets a favorable draw, he might make his SF at Wimbledon also.
I personally would love to see David rabked #3, just to piss off the naysayers.

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

^alright, this might have come off wrong - it's not that i don't think he can do it, and not that i don't think he deserves it. i was just pointing out that Isabelle shouldn't forget Rafa in this one. it could well be that Daveed passes Roger, but Rafa leapfrogs both of them.

 

[Kieran]

^ uhm, "Olderer" is not the (only) one that our beloved youngster needs to worry about if he wants to get to #3. basically, he'll have to go further than Rafa, or he'll be passed (i'm sure some of our stat/math monsters could break it down more precisely, but i think that's the gist).

Depends how far Rafa will go. Considering that Rafa will be seeded 5, there is a real possibility, he'll be stopped in the QF. And David being seeded 4, if he gets a favorable draw, he might make his SF at Wimbledon also.
I personally would love to see David rabked #3, just to piss off the naysayers.

This is hilarious. It amazes me the lengths everyone's going to, to portray Rafa as brittle in the early rounds. And this from a Novak fan!

Rafa has five finals at Wimbo - he'll only be as vulnerable as everyone else. No more.

No less. And certainly no less than Novak (or Daveed Ferrer)...

 

[isabelle]

Nadal is often injured but Ferrer isn't so i guess that he'll play a whole season (as usually) but will Nadal do ??
Nadal often misses a part of the season (grass ? hard court ? indoor ?? ) so maybe it's Ferrer's opportunity to be N°3 ??
If he plays well he coudl be N°3 I guess
It would be fantastic for him

 

[Denis]

If David Ferrer is the future of tennis, there is no future for tennis (in the professional sense). Curling might surpass it in terms of popularity. David Ferrer has nothing tennis needs as a poster boy. 'Work ethic' won't make the game popular with the youth, you need stars, drama, shotmaking, character and a great game. Ferrer has none of that sufficiently I am afraid. Yes he is a nice guy. Yes he works hard. Most people do. But you need something extra on top of that to make people want to enjoy watching the game.

In any event, Ferrer is not going to be the future of tennis. He loses to the big 4 on a very regular basis, so I am not worried.

 

[brokenshoelace]

If David Ferrer is the future of tennis, there is no future for tennis (in the professional sense). Curling might surpass it in terms of popularity. David Ferrer has nothing tennis needs as a poster boy. 'Work ethic' won't make the game popular with the youth, you need stars, drama, shotmaking, character and a great game. Ferrer has none of that sufficiently I am afraid. Yes he is a nice guy. Yes he works hard. Most people do. But you need something extra on top of that to make people want to enjoy watching the game.

In any event, Ferrer is not going to be the future of tennis. He loses to the big 4 on a very regular basis, so I am not worried.

He's 31. He can't be the future of tennis for that alone, and I doubt that Kieran was being serious.

 

[calitennis127]

Absolutely. It's barren out there at the moment. And we saw just how far away the likes of Tsonga, Ferrer etc are. I give Ferrer kudos for effort, though, whereas most of them are grinning at the net after a defeat, which seems bizarre to me.

The older players did well, but what about Grigor? Brushed aside. Raonic? Who else? Nowhere!

Even if you want to say that the younger generation is mostly poor (something I have been saying for a couple years), this does not mean that the older players such as Youzhny have gotten worse. It just means that there is a dearth of talent among the younger group.

 

[herios]

Bringing back this thread, as it is a lot of fun re-reading what everyone had to say and mainly because my wish came true and David will be indeed ranked #3 following Wimbledon.
He just reached a top ranking like Ljubicic or Davydenko, and if you think he didin't have a worst career than those two.
And in conclusion, he is not the 'future" of tennis, but very much the "present" and he is making the most of it.

 

[Andrew William]

Ferrer hasn't demonstrated enough to deserve a category all to himself. Sure, he's consistent at drubbing the weak field of others you plop in front of him. However, when facing off with the elite, he shrinks. Certainly he belongs in the Delpo, Tsonga, Berdych realm of players. How can he be better than JMDP who has won a slam against the great Federer? The other players involved also have had their 'just fell short' moments as well. So all in all I think El Dude's list was accurate. Though I will say, Murray has arrows pointing up and will likely soon join Nadal and Djokovic. Federer with arrows down simply because you can't fight father time forever, no matter how good you are.

 

[herios]

Ferrer hasn't demonstrated enough to deserve a category all to himself. Sure, he's consistent at drubbing the weak field of others you plop in front of him. However, when facing off with the elites, he shrinks. Certainly he belongs in the Delpo, Tsonga, Berdych realm of players. How can he be better than JMDP who has won a slam against the great Federer? The other players involved also have had their 'just fell short' moments as well. So all in all I think El Dude's list was accurate. Though I will say, Murray has arrows pointing up and will likely soon join Nadal and Djokovic. Federer with arrows down simply because you can't fight father time forever, no matter how good you are.

Sorry. but I disagree with you. Ferrer has beaten all the elite with one exception: Federer. Then, wake me up when Berdych, Tsonga etc will be ranekd 3. Then we can discuss.

 

[Andrew William]

Ferrer hasn't demonstrated enough to deserve a category all to himself. Sure, he's consistent at drubbing the weak field of others you plop in front of him. However, when facing off with the elites, he shrinks. Certainly he belongs in the Delpo, Tsonga, Berdych realm of players. How can he be better than JMDP who has won a slam against the great Federer? The other players involved also have had their 'just fell short' moments as well. So all in all I think El Dude's list was accurate. Though I will say, Murray has arrows pointing up and will likely soon join Nadal and Djokovic. Federer with arrows down simply because you can't fight father time forever, no matter how good you are.

Sorry. but I disagree with you. Ferrer has beaten all the elite with one exception: Federer. Then, wake me up when Berdych, Tsonga etc will be ranekd 3. Then we can discuss.

That's fine. Different strokes for different folks. I guess it all depends on how much weight you put on ranking. Ferrer has beaten some of the elite. Let's take a look at how he fared:

Vs Rafael Nadal: 4-20
And I seem to recall Nadal hobbled on a few of those occasions where he lost.

Vs Novak Djokovic 5-10
Not too bad against the best player in the world. Andy Roddick also had a good score against the Serb. But since Nole's transformation to the best player in the world from being a very good player, David has only beaten him once, at the World Tour Finals.

Vs Andy Murray 5-7
David's best match up of the elite players. Just slightly inferior right? Well if we look closer at those results we can see that of Ferrer's 5 wins over Murray, 4 of those were on clay -- Andy's least favorable surface. I wouldn't put Murray on 'elite' terms just yet when it comes to clay. While David is a very accomplished clay-courter.

Vs Roger Federer 0-14
No need to expound on this - total domination.

That's a combined 14-51 against elite level players.

Let's now take a look at these other players David should scoff at being attached to....

Juan Martin Del Potro

Vs Rafael Nadal 3-8
Vs Novak Djokovic 3-8
Vs Andy Murray 2-5
Vs Roger Federer 4-13
Total: 12-34

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Vs Rafael Nadal 3-8
Vs Novak Djokovic 5-10
Vs Andy Murray 1-8
Vs Roger Federer 4-9
Total: 13-35

Tomas Berdych

Vs Rafael Nadal 3-14
Vs Novak Djokovic 2-13
Vs Andy Murray 5-4
Vs Roger Federer 6-11
Total: 16-42