David Ferrer is hanging up his racquet at the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open after a stunning career: former World No. 3, 27 ATP Tour titles — including the 2012 Rolex Paris Masters — three Davis Cups, 2013 Roland Garros finalist, Australian Open (2011, 2013) and US Open (2007, 2012) semi-finalist, a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon (2012-13) and a runner-up finish at the 2007 Nitto ATP Finals. It is, without a doubt, one of the best careers in the history of Spanish tennis. The Javea native has also earned the respect of his peers, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

Ferrer says that the ambition and drive of the quartet made him a better player. Of his compatriot Nadal, Ferrer admitted, “Rafa has been a mirror for me. Although he is younger and joined the tour later, I’ve learned from him. Winning a tournament and winning it again. Winning at Roland Garros, going to Queen’s [in London] and winning again… That showed me that when you win a tournament it’s not enough, you have to keep going. That helped me reach World No. 3 and to have the consistency I did.

“If I hadn’t seen those players, if I’d been with the other kind of players that I witnessed at the start of my career, I wouldn’t have been such a good player,” he added. “Federer would change the pace and drive me crazy. Maybe I made him sweat like many players, but I never had the chance to beat him.”

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Of course, the peak of Ferrer’s career came in 2013 at Roland Garros, a bittersweet and also memorable fortnight to the final against Nadal. “I never had a chance,” Ferrer recalled. “I’m not blaming anyone, but my motivation for that match was not the best. I went onto court a little distressed. And that’s normal because it was my first final, it’s logical. Anyway, maybe in those moments we were none the wiser. Neither I, nor my team, had a better idea of how to approach the match. We did what we could.”

Another near miss, which Ferrer struggles to forget came at the All England Club, Wimbledon, in partnership with his great friend, Feliciano Lopez, during the 2012 Olympics. A 6-3, 4-6, 18-16 semi-final loss to the French team of Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Michael Llodra left them exhausted and, ultimately, without a bronze medal. “We were both in the locker room and it was so hard,” remembers Ferrer. “We were playing so well. And that match, at 0/40… We were the better side for the whole match and it really hurt us. If we’d lost an easy match, I think we’d have had a better chance of winning the bronze. But it was so hard mentally. The next day was very difficult.”

At the end of an exceptional career, the universally admired and fierce competitor will cherish his close friendships with fellow Spaniards, former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero and Roberto Bautista Agut. “Juan Carlos opened his doors to me and offered advice. We were very close. It’s something I’ll be eternally grateful for. It’s similar to what I feel now with Roberto Bautista. Juan Carlos taught me to help a young player. We got on well and he gave me the chance to be with him at the Valencia tournament. I have a lot of respect and affection for him, he’s a person I’ll always be grateful to. If there’s one thing I regret, it’s not having taken the step of working with him at certain points of my career.” Ferrer also expresses his admiration of Carlos Moya and Sergi Bruguera, Albert Costa and Alex Corretja, in addition to his friendships with Feliciano, Marc Lopez, Nadal and Bautista Agut.

In reflection, Ferrer is more than satisfied. “I can only say that I haven’t won a Grand Slam because I wasn’t able to. I tried to give my all, but I wouldn’t exchange places with players that have won one. There are players that have one Grand Slam and have only played one or two Masters finals. I’ve played in seven, I’m the third player in the history of Spain to win 734 matches – 12th on the ATP Tour match wins list (since 1972). My tennis life has been very good. I felt good about myself for many years of my career.”

Ferrer never lost the most valuable trait of all: humility. He will be missed.

Kei Nishikori earned a high five from partner Juan Martin del Potro after tagging Bruno Soares with a shot in their second-round match at the Mutua Madrid Open, but Soares and Jamie Murray had the last laugh. The third seeds defeated Del Potro and Nishikori 7-6(5), 6-2 on Wednesday to earn their place in the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Del Potro and Nishikori, teaming up for the first time this week, had played their second-round singles matches earlier in the day. Del Potro lost to Rio Open presented by Claro champion Laslo Djere, while Nishikori prevailed against qualifier Hugo Dellien.

Read: Djere Saves M.P. On Delpo’s Return | Nishikori Battles

Murray and Soares will next face Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who ousted Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champions Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor 6-2, 6-4. Mektic had also won the Madrid title last year with Alexander Peya.

Second seeds and 2017 champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo continued their bid to reclaim the Madrid title by defeating Robin Haase and Raven Klaasen 6-4, 7-6(5). In the quarter-finals, they will play Guido Pella and Joao Sousa, who fought for a 4-6, 7-6(11), 11-9 win over No. 8 seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers.

Sixth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic also advanced as they beat Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 7-6(3). Meanwhile, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau prevailed against Brits Kyle Edmund and Neal Skupski 6-2, 6-7(4), 10-5.

Roger Federer will look to clinch his 1200th match win on Thursday when he faces off against Gael Monfils at the Mutua Madrid Open. Federer, a three-time champion at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament, goes head to head with Monfils for the first time in four years. 

All singles players feature in Round of 16 action Thursday in Madrid, with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and five-time Madrid champion Rafael Nadal leading the charge. Djokovic will play Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while Nadal meets American Frances Tiafoe. 

More to come…

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, 9 MAY, 2019

MANOLO SANTANA start 12:00 noon
WTA match
Not Before 2:00 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 
Not Before 4:00 pm
ATP – [4] Roger Federer (SUI) vs [15] Gael Monfils (FRA) 
Not Before 8:00 pm
ATP – Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) 
Not Before 9:30 pm
WTA match

ARANTXA SANCHEZ start 12:00 noon
ATP – [9] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Laslo Djere (SRB) 
Not Before 2:00 pm
WTA match
Not Before 4:00 pm
WTA match
ATP – Possible court change – [Q] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs [WC] David Ferrer (ESP) or [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) 

STADIUM 3 start 12:00 noon
ATP – [WC] Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) / Jaume Munar (ESP) vs Marcelo Demoliner (BRA) / Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 
ATP – [10] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT) 
ATP – [6] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 
ATP – Possible court change – [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) or [11] Karen Khachanov (RUS) 

COURT 4 start 3:00 pm
ATP – Guido Pella (ARG) / Joao Sousa (POR) vs [2] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 
ATP – [6] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO) or Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) / Dominic Thiem (AUT) 
ATP – [3] Jamie Murray (GBR) / Bruno Soares (BRA) vs Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

Eighteen-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime wasn’t intimidated by the moment, but Rafael Nadal doesn’t need much to grab hold of a match at the Mutua Madrid Open.

The five-time champion took advantage of a loose service game from Auger-Aliassime at 3-4, which included five forehand unforced errors, and the Spaniard served out the set to take the opener 6-3 in their much-anticipated generational clash at La Caja Magica.

The second-seeded Spaniard used his defence well in the opener as Auger-Aliassime came out attacking and showed he has the shots to compete with Nadal on his beloved clay. But Nadal was solid from both sides, and seemed to be playing more comfortable as he served out the set.

The Spaniard had a stomach virus on Sunday but had been practising for at least 90 minutes a day since then. Auger-Aliassime is going for the biggest win of his career after beating countryman and friend Denis Shapovalov, 20, in his opening match in Madrid.

The winner will meet American Frances Tiafoe, who knocked out Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Roger Federer played his first clay-court match in nearly three years on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The fourth seed routed France’s Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-3 for his 18^th victory in their 20-match FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

But did Federer, who skipped the clay-court season the past two years, truly miss playing and sliding on the red dirt? Well, it’s complicated. On the one hand, no.

“Look, not too much, to be quite honest with you. I’d love to tell you, I miss it so much,” Federer said.

But on the other hand, yes. “I missed it in ’16 because I was in Paris. I was really trying everything to get in shape and that was a very frustrating period for me.

“When I came here I had to pull out because my knee was swollen and I played Rome because I had a bad back and a bad knee because I broke my back here on top of all things, so that’s maybe when I missed playing [Roland Garros] the most,” Federer said.

The next year, in 2017, Federer skipped the entire clay-court season for the first time. The prior season, he had missed the last five months of the year to give his knee more time to recuperate.

“It was a decision for my longevity, for my health, for my family,” Federer said. “Last year, I just felt like, you know what, it worked so well in ’17, let’s do the same thing again in ’18. And I didn’t really miss it because I was enjoying myself at home and having a good time and again, looking at the longevity.”

But, Federer said, if he hadn’t played on clay this year, he would have been full of regrets.

“If I would have skipped the clay again, I think I would have felt like that’s not the right decision. I would have always felt regrets not being on the clay in 2019 because my knee problem is far enough away now because that was still playing a little bit part of our decision in ’17, to be quite honest, not from my side but more from the team,” he said.

“So it feels good to be back on the clay now, and I enjoy it to be honest. Some of these rallies where you get pushed to the side, you slide, you hit the ball, you slide, you hit the ball, you come back into it, then you can defend in a different manner than you do on the hard courts, or on the grass.”

The 37-year-old Swiss will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics or France’s Gael Monfils in the third round, but the fourth seed also would welcome a 39^th FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup with Nadal. The Spaniard leads their rivalry 23-15, including 13-2 on clay.

Asked if he’d like to play Nadal, the second seed, in the final, Federer said: “Yeah, that means I’m in the final. And I didn’t have many chances to beat him the last three years on clay, so years go by quickly,” Federer said.

The two have met three times in Madrid. Nadal won two of them, but Federer’s victory came in the 2009 final, a 6-4, 6-4 win.

“I remember back to the final here in Madrid as one of my good matches on clay, no doubt about it. I think he was pretty tired as well. I played solid. Of course, I would love to play on clay against him again, even though I know it’s a tough challenge and all that,” Federer said.

“But again it would be nice to have played him at the beginning of his career on clay and also at the very end and see how it all plays out. And if I said I don’t want to play him on clay, I think then I would have made a mistake to be on the clay in the first place because he is the measuring stick for all us players.”

Grigor Dimitrov announced Tuesday that he has parted ways with coach Dani Vallverdu, whom he has worked with since July 2016.

Dimitrov wrote in a statement on Twitter: “After my match yesterday Dani Vallverdu my long time coach and I sat down together. After three great years, we will be going our separate ways. We had some career highlights and amazing moments on court. I want to thank Dani for everything he has done for me and I wish him nothing but the best in his next endeavors.”

Vallverdu helped guide Dimitrov to a career-best season in 2017, highlighted by triumph at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, the ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open and a career-high No. 3 ATP Ranking.

Dimitrov struggled to maintain his momentum in 2018, with his best result a runner-up finish in Rotterdam. The 27-year-old Bulgarian entered Madrid at No. 46 in the ATP Rankings, and is in danger of falling outside the Top 50 for the first time since 2012. He lost to Taylor Fritz in his opening match on Monday to drop to a 9-6 season record.

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— Grigor Dimitrov (@GrigorDimitrov) May 7, 2019