Why David Ferrer is not in the top 4?

Why David Ferrer is not in the top 4?



The world’s top four men have occupied more column inches and TV coverage in 2012 than the rest of the top 100 put together, which is fair enough given that they are the ones who are consistentlyentertaining fans around the globe with their incredible consistency and ability. There have been some who suggest that the dominance of the top four is not good for the game, overshadowing the rest despite some superb achievements. Well, there might be a bit of truth in that and you certainly have to feel sorry for David Ferrer, who had the season of his life and still couldn’t improve his ranking from No 5. Ferrer won seven titles in 2012, won more matches than anyone else and had his best performances in grand slams and yet still he finds himself behind Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal. Now the chances are that in the first couple of months of 2013, Ferrer may well sneak into the top four at some stage, depending how quickly Nadal gets back to full speed, but by the time 2013 is finished, it would still be a surprise if the top four were not the same again, albeit perhaps in a different order. On the face of it, there is little that’s holding Ferrer back, other than a huge weapon to outgun some of the top guns in the latter stages of grand slams. No one works harder than the Spaniard, very few players are fitter and his consistency is little short of remarkable. At the age of 30, he is in his absolute tennis prime. And yet, one statistic – taken from the ATP’s FedEx Reliability Zone – may explain why he has not made it into the top four. Against top 10 players, he has a record of 44 wins and 73 losses, which puts him way down the career list at 45th place. All four of Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal are in the top 10 all-time, which says a lot for their ability on the biggest stages, under the most intense of pressure. Bjorn Borg tops the all-time list with 67 wins to 28 losses at a percentage of 70.5 percent, while Federer just edges out Nadal for second and Djokovic and Murray are eighth and ninth respectively. Now some of Ferrer’s position can be explained by the fact that his record against Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray combined is 14-45, though some of those matches came when they were not in the top 10. But if a player’s record against top 10 players is an indication of his greatness, then Ferrer’s is perhaps lacking. The top 24 in the list all won grand slam singles titles but only 13 have positive records against fellow top 10 players, which shows how tough it is.

MiZAR