Ferrer and Federer win hometown titles
Originally published on: 07/11/10 23:08
David Ferrer has given his chances of securing a place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals a significant lift after lifting the Valencia Open 500 title.
“This is one of the happiest days of my life,” said the Valencia resident after defeating Marcel Granollers 7-5 6-3 in the final. “It’s hard to find the words. It’s very special and I’m very happy to win at home.”
“It’s also very special for me as I have a good chance for London now as well,” said Ferrer, who leapfrogged Andy Roddick into seventh in the race after victory with just one tournamentm this week’s Paris Masters, remaining.
“Even though I am not yet mathematically qualified, it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Ferrer, 28, heads to Paris needing a solid performance to secure his place in his second year-end championships since reaching the final in 2007.
Victory was also as emotional for Roger Federer, who recorded his 65th career singles title after a 6-4 3-6 6-1 win over Novak Djokovic to reclaim his Swiss Indoors crown, which he surrendered to the Serb last year.
“It’s obviously a beautiful moment. It’s always very emotional and just a good feeling; I’m very happy,” said the four-time Basel champion. “I’ve had a great history here. I can’t believe I’ve been in the final so many times and I’ve won already four times. I couldn’t be more happy today.
“I have to back it up now. I’ve played three straight finals in a row; I’ve won titles back-to-back in Stockholm and Basel,” said Federer. “Now I have a couple of days off and a travel day as well to get to Paris and play well there and it’s only then that the focus will really shift to London. I’d like to keep it up and play well in Paris and see how it goes from there.”
Attention now moves to this week’s BNP Paribas Masters in Paris-Bercy, where not just the title is up for grabs. Every match and ranking point will be crucial for the likes of Ferrer, Thomas Berdych, Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, Mikhail Youzhny and Jurgen Melzer as they fight over the last three places to London.
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