1999–2001: Turning pro and first Challenger title Ferrer was born in
Xàbia in the
province of Alicante, but he moved to
Gandia at age thirteen, followed two years later by a move to
Barcelona to attend the Catalan Tennis Federation. Once, as a teenager, when Ferrer did not practice hard enough, his coach, Javier Piles, locked him in a completely dark 2m x 2m ball closet for several hours, giving him only a piece of bread and a bit of water. After this incident he was fed up with tennis and went to work at a construction site, but after a week he returned to Piles and asked if he could remain at the club and play tennis. Piles continued to coach Ferrer until they parted ways at the end of 2013. Ferrer has said he considers Piles to be like a second father to him. Ferrer turned professional in 2000, finishing as world no. 419, winning in Poland F1 and Spain F3, finishing runner-up in Spain F1. 2001 was not a particularly good year for him. He won his first career
Challenger title in Sopot and reached the semifinals at
Manerbio. He also reached the semifinals in Spain F15 and Spain F16.
2002–2003: First title, victory over world No.1 In 2002, he played consistently in ATP (10–6) and Challenger (35–13) tournaments, winning his first ATP title in
Bucharest (defeated
José Acasuso) and reaching his first ATP final in just his second ATP event in
Umag (defeated
David Nalbandian and
Guillermo Coria, lost to
Carlos Moyá). He won Challenger titles in Naples, Valencia, and Sassuolo. All 10 ATP match wins and 34 of 35 Challenger wins came on clay. The highlight of 2003 was Ferrer's victory against
Andre Agassi at the
Rome Masters. He made his debut at all four
Grand Slam tournaments, as well as six
ATP Masters Series events. In Rome, he upset the defending champion Agassi in the first round and lost to
Ivan Ljubičić in the second round. Ferrer advanced to the second round at the
French Open and
Wimbledon. He reached his third career final in Sopot and lost to
Guillermo Coria. In doubles, he reached his first career final in
Acapulco with
Fernando Vicente. He compiled a 13–16 record on clay courts, 6–10 on hard, 1–1 on grass, and had a year-ending ranking of world no. 71.
2004–2005: First Grand Slam quarterfinal, top 15 In 2004, Ferrer reached the quarterfinals in
Buenos Aires,
Valencia, and at the ATP Masters Series
Hamburg (defeated no. 6
David Nalbandian, lost to
Guillermo Coria). He advanced to the semifinals in
Stuttgart (lost to
Gastón Gaudio). Later in the year he advanced to the quarterfinals in Bucharest and the semifinals in Palermo (lost to
Tomáš Berdych) and Lyon (defeated
Juan Carlos Ferrero, lost to
Xavier Malisse). He ended the year with a ranking of world no. 49. In 2005, Ferrer advanced to the semifinals in Miami by defeating
David Nalbandian,
Juan Carlos Ferrero, and
Dominik Hrbatý, but lost to
Rafael Nadal. He closed the year with a quarterfinal showing in Madrid, where he defeated Puerta, but lost to
Robby Ginepri, and Paris, where he lost to
Andy Roddick. He lost only once in the first round of nine Masters Series events, while compiling a 20–9 record. In doubles, Ferrer won his first two ATP titles in Viña del Mar and Acapulco (with Ventura) and earned a career-high US$951,772. He finished the year with a ranking of world no. 14.
2006–2007: World Tour Finals final, top 5 Ferrer opened the year with a quarterfinal showing in
Auckland, where he lost to
Olivier Rochus. He broke into the top 10 ATP rankings for the first time, following a personal-best fourth-round showing at the
Australian Open, where he defeated
Mario Ančić, but lost to
Fabrice Santoro. He was in the top 10 for five weeks during the year. Then, playing in the first round of a
Davis Cup tie versus
Belarus, he lost to
Vladimir Voltchkov in the second rubber. In March, he reached the semifinals in Miami for a second straight year, where he defeated no. 4
Andy Roddick, but lost to
Roger Federer. In his second clay-court tournament of the year in Monte-Carlo, he lost to Federer. He also advanced to the quarterfinals at the Masters Series Hamburg, falling to eventual champion
Tommy Robredo. In Düsseldorf, he posted wins over two top-10 players, world no. 4
Ivan Ljubičić and world no. 9
Fernando González. He reached the third round at the
French Open and a career-best fourth round at
Wimbledon, where he defeated González in the third round, but lost to
Lleyton Hewitt. In July, he won a second career ATP title in a five-hour final in
Stuttgart. He came back from two sets to one and a 1–5 deficit against Acasuso, saving one match point down 4–5 in the fourth set. In August, he reached the quarterfinals in
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he defeated no. 10
Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to González, followed by a third-round showing at New Haven, where he lost to
Agustín Calleri. At the
US Open, he reached the third round for the second consecutive year, but lost to
Mikhail Youzhny. Ferrer closed the year by reaching the quarterfinals in
Basel, where he lost to Federer. For the year, he went 3–5 versus top-10 opponents and compiled records of 18–8 on clay and 17–13 on hard court. He finished the year ranked world no. 14 and in the top 15 for the second consecutive year. Ferrer began the year by winning Auckland, defeating
Tommy Robredo in the final. At the
2007 Australian Open, he defeated
Kristian Pless,
Thomas Johansson, and
Radek Štěpánek, and lost in the fourth round to
Mardy Fish in five sets. One month later, he reached the quarterfinals at
Rotterdam. He had quarterfinal finishes at Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo and reached the fourth round in
Miami, the semifinals in
Barcelona, and the quarterfinals in
Hamburg. At the
French Open, he was stopped by
Fernando Verdasco in the third round. At
Wimbledon, he was eliminated by
Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round. In July, he captured his second title of the year and fourth of his career, beating
Nicolás Almagro in the final of the
Swedish Open in
Båstad. He then advanced to the quarterfinals in
Cincinnati, defeating
Andy Roddick in the third round. At the
US Open, he was seeded 15th and knocked out 24th-seeded
David Nalbandian in the third round, and then upset second-seeded compatriot
Rafael Nadal in the fourth round in four sets. He beat 20th-seeded
Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarterfinals and reached his first
Grand Slam semifinal, where he was defeated by third seed
Novak Djokovic. His performance at the US Open brought his ranking up to world no. 8. Then, Ferrer captured his third title of the year in Tokyo, defeating
Richard Gasquet in the final. At the
Paris Masters, he made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to
David Nalbandian. Ferrer qualified as the sixth seed for the year-ending
Tennis Masters Cup. Ferrer upset third seed Djokovic in his first
round-robin match, and then defeated second seed
Rafael Nadal. He sealed his qualification for the knock-out stage by defeating eighth seed
Richard Gasquet. He was the only man to have a perfect record in the round-robin stage and had the best win/loss set record (6–1). Ferrer next defeated fifth seed
Andy Roddick in the semifinals. In the final, Ferrer lost to top seed
Roger Federer. He ended the year with a career-high ranking of world no. 5.
2008–2009: Two consecutive Davis Cup titles Ferrer opened 2008 with a quarterfinal loss to unseeded
Julien Benneteau of France in
Auckland. He reached the second week of the
Australian Open, however, as the fifth seed, without dropping a set in the first three rounds. He then went on to defeat 22nd seed
Juan Carlos Ferrero in four sets in the fourth round, before falling to third seed and eventual champion
Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. On 25 February, Ferrer became world no. 4, despite losing in the second round in
Rotterdam. In April, he captured his first ATP title of the year, and the sixth in his career, when he defeated
Nicolás Almagro in the final of
Valencia. He saved three match points against
Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals, and in the final, won the definitive set when he went down 5–2 in the third set, with two break points for Almagro. Ferrer reached the quarterfinals in the
Monte Carlo Masters, losing against the eventual tournament champion
Rafael Nadal, despite having five set points in the second set. In
Barcelona, Ferrer reached the final, after defeating
Nicolás Lapentti,
Tommy Robredo and
Stanislas Wawrinka. He again lost to Nadal in the final. Ferrer made it to the quarterfinals of the
French Open, matching his previous best appearance in 2005. He defeated
Steve Darcis and
Fabrice Santoro. He then prevailed in two five-set matches over
Lleyton Hewitt and
Radek Štěpánek in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. He eventually fell to
Gaël Monfils in four sets. Ferrer began his grass-court season with another title at
's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. He defeated Croatian
Mario Ančić and
Argentine Juan Martín del Potro en route to the final, where he won in straight sets over
Marc Gicquel. This was his seventh career title and the first on grass. With this win, he became the second Spaniard (after Nadal) to win a grass-court tournament after a 36-year drought. At
Wimbledon, Ferrer was seeded fifth. In the first round, he defeated
Sergiy Stakhovsky, and
Igor Andreev. He was eliminated by Ančić in the third round in four sets. Representing Spain at the
2008 Summer Olympics, Ferrer was eliminated by
Janko Tipsarević in the first round. At the
US Open, Ferrer reached the third round as the fourth seed, where he lost
Kei Nishikori, ranked 126, in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Ferrer saved five match points before losing the match. Seeded first at the
China Open in
Beijing, Ferrer was defeated by
Dudi Sela in the second round. Ferrer lost in the second round of the
Madrid Masters to fellow Spaniard
Feliciano López. Ferrer began his
Season at the
Heineken Open losing to
Sam Querrey in the semifinals. At the
Australian Open, he was upset by
Marin Čilić in the third round. He then bounced back with a semifinal showing at the
SA Tennis Open falling to
Jérémy Chardy after dominating the first set, in a tightly contested second and third set. He reached his first final of the year at the
Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to
Novak Djokovic in straight sets. However, he bounced back defeating
Novak Djokovic in a Davis Cup tie. At the Masters 1000
BNP Paribas Open and
Sony Ericsson Open, he was able to reach the fourth round, losing to
Andy Roddick and
Juan Martín del Potro, respectively. In the clay season, Ferrer played his first event at the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. After cruising through the first two rounds, he was routed by
Fernando Verdasco. He rebounded by reaching the final of the
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, losing to
Rafael Nadal in the final. However, the Spaniard suffered early loses at the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia,
Estoril Open, and
Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. At the
French Open, he fell to surprise finalist
Robin Söderling in the third round. He played his Wimbledon warm-up at the
Ordina Open and was upset by compatriot
Iván Navarro in the quarterfinals. At
Wimbledon, Ferrer suffered another third-round loss in a Grand Slam, this time falling to Czech
Radek Štěpánek in five sets. Ferrer then came back to clay at the
International German Open, where he reached his fifth semifinal of the year, but lost to
Nikolay Davydenko. However, the Spaniard had an abysmal US Open Series, losing in the third round of
2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and in the second round of the
Rogers Cup and the
US Open. He then suffered back-to-back first-round loses at the
Proton Malaysian Open and
China Open, losing to
Mikhail Youzhny and
Fernando González. He also fell to
Feliciano López in the second round of the
Shanghai ATP Masters 1000. He was the defending champion at the
Valencia Open 500, but withdrew prior to his second-round match against
Albert Montañés due to a hamstring injury. He then helped Spain capture the Davis Cup title, when he defeated
Radek Štěpánek in five sets.
2010: First Masters final Ferrer lost in the second round of the
2010 Australian Open to
Marcos Baghdatis, after winning the first two sets, in a match lasting just over four hours. Ferrer's next tournament was the
SA Tennis Open, where he defeated
Karol Beck,
Filip Prpic and
Somdev Devvarman. However, in the semifinals, he lost to
Stéphane Robert. Ferrer's next tournament was the
Copa Telmex. He beat
Simon Greul,
Frederico Gil,
Igor Andreev and
Albert Montañés. However, in the final, he fell to
Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel. He defeated
Potito Starace,
Thomaz Bellucci,
Pablo Cuevas and
Fernando González. In the final, he avenged his previous defeat by
Juan Carlos Ferrero for his eighth career title. This was Ferrero's third straight final and also ended Ferrero's 14-match winning streak. His ranking also rose to no. 16. In the first round of the
2010 Davis Cup, Ferrer defeated
Marco Chiudinelli and then
Stanislas Wawrinka to advance Spain to the quarterfinals of the
2010 Davis Cup, where they faced France. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 BNP Paribas Open. In the second round, he was defeated by
James Blake. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Sony Ericsson Open. He defeated
Michaël Llodra and
Ivo Karlović. However, in the fourth round, he was defeated by
Rafael Nadal. Ferrer then entered the European clay-court swing. His first tournament was the
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He defeated
Peter Luczak,
Andrey Golubev and
Ivan Ljubičić. In the quarterfinals, he defeated
Philipp Kohlschreiber to advance to the semifinals, where he was again defeated by Nadal. Next, Ferrer participated in the
2010 Torneo Godo. He defeated
Marcel Granollers,
Simone Bolelli and
Thomaz Bellucci in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he played
Fernando Verdasco. Ferrer was leading Verdasco, 7–6, 4–2, before ultimately losing. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Rome Masters. Ferrer defeated
Evgeny Korolev,
Potito Starace, world no. 5
Andy Murray, world no. 10
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 9
Fernando Verdasco. In his first Masters 1000 event final Ferrer succumbed to
Rafael Nadal. Due to his fantastic run in Rome, his ranking increased to world no. 12. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. He defeated
Jérémy Chardy,
Marcos Baghdatis after fending off a match point and
Marin Čilić to advance to the quarterfinals. There, he, for the second successive time, beat world no. 4
Andy Murray. In the semifinals, Ferrer lost to world no. 1
Roger Federer in three sets. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 French Open. He began his campaign with a victory over
David Guez, and then defeated
Xavier Malisse when Malisse had to retire. In the third round. he fell to surprise semifinalist
Jürgen Melzer. Ferrer's next tournament was the
Wimbledon, where he was the ninth seed. He defeated
Nicolas Kiefer,
Florent Serra and
Jérémy Chardy in five sets, with Chardy serving for the match at 5–4 in the fifth. In the fourth round, he was defeated by
Robin Söderling, again in five sets, despite being two points away from the match on two occasions. Ferrer next played for Spain in the
2010 Davis Cup. He lost his first rubber to
Gaël Monfils of France. Spain ultimately lost to France 0–5. Ferrer then traveled to Sweden to play in the
2010 Swedish Open. He defeated
Fabio Fognini and
Pablo Cuevas to advance to the semifinals. Ferrer also extended his ATP best wins on clay in 2010 to 31 wins. However, he lost to
Robin Söderling in the semifinals. He was then supposed to play in the
2010 International German Open as the second seed, but had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury. Ferrer's next tournament was the
2010 Rogers Cup, where he lost in the first round to
David Nalbandian. Despite his loss, his ranking increased to world no. 11. Ferrer then traveled to Cincinnati to play in the
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. He defeated
Alexandr Dolgopolov and
Sam Querrey. However, in the third round, he lost to
Nikolay Davydenko, despite being up a break of serve twice in the third set. Ferrer's next event was the
2010 US Open, where he was seeded tenth. In the first round, he defeated
Alexandr Dolgopolov, and then defeated
Benjamin Becker in the second round. He then defeated
Daniel Gimeno-Traver for a spot in the round of 16. However, he lost to
Fernando Verdasco despite being up 4–2 in the fifth set, and 4–1 in the tiebreaker. Due to Ferrer's appearance in the round of 16, Ferrer was ensured to return to the top 10, to no. 10 in the world. Ferrer then traveled to Malaysia to play in the
2010 Proton Malaysian Open. He defeated
Bernard Tomic,
Yuki Bhambri and world no. 7
Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals. However, in the semifinals, he was upset by
Andrey Golubev. Ferrer then traveled to Beijing to play in the
2010 China Open. He defeated
Denis Istomin,
Yen-Hsun Lu,
Robin Söderling and
Ivan Ljubičić. However, in the final, he lost to
Novak Djokovic in a rain-delayed match. With this run to the final, Ferrer once again returned to the top 10, at world no. 10, and this also put him in the eighth position for qualifying for the year-end championships. Ferrer then traveled to Shanghai to play in the
2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters. He defeated
Michaël Llodra and
Thomaz Bellucci. However, he was defeated by
Robin Söderling in the third round. Due to his round of 16 showing, he moved to no. 8 in the world. Also, he moved to no. 7 in the race to the year-end championships. Ferrer then traveled to Valencia to play in the
2010 Valencia Open 500 as the hometown favorite. At the
2010 Valencia Open 500, he defeated
Guillermo García-López,
Teymuraz Gabashvili,
Potito Starace and
Robin Söderling for a spot in the final. In the final, he defeated
Marcel Granollers for the title, his ninth career title. With this victory, he moved to no. 7 in the race to the year-end championships and virtually secured his spot at the
2010 ATP World Tour Finals, and also improved his ranking to world no. 7. Ferrer's final regular-season tournament was the
2010 BNP Paribas Masters. He defeated
Fabio Fognini. However, he lost to
Jürgen Melzer in the third round. Despite his loss, Ferrer still qualified for the
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals due to the fact that
Fernando Verdasco lost his third-round match, sealing Ferrer's seventh spot and his second appearance since 2007. Ferrer then traveled to London to play in the
2010 ATP World Tour Finals, where he was seeded seventh. In his first match, he lost to Federer, and in his second match he lost to Söderling. Ferrer then lost to
Andy Murray to finish the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals with an 0–3 record. Ferrer finished the year with a 60–24 record, and once again in the top 10, finishing at world no. 7.
2011: Third Davis Cup title, two Masters finals Ferrer began his
2011 ATP World Tour season at the
2011 Heineken Open, He defeated
Tobias Kamke,
Philipp Kohlschreiber and
Santiago Giraldo for a berth in the final, where he defeated Nalbandian for his first title of the year and the tenth in his career. Ferrer then traveled to
Melbourne to play in the
2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded seventh. He defeated
Jarkko Nieminen,
Michael Russell,
Ričardas Berankis and
Milos Raonic for a spot in his second Australian Open quarterfinal. He beat an injured world no. 1
Rafael Nadal for a spot in the semifinals, winning in three sets. This notably ended Nadal's quest to win four straight majors. He lost to fifth seed
Andy Murray in the semifinal. With his run to the semifinals of the
Australian Open, his ranking rose to world no. 6. Ferrer then traveled to Rotterdam to play in the
2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, where he lost in the first round to
Jarkko Nieminen. Next, Ferrer traveled to Acapulco for the
2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, where he defeated
Adrian Ungur,
Santiago González,
Juan Mónaco and
Alexandr Dolgopolov to advance to his second consecutive final at the
Abierto Mexicano Telcel. He defeated compatriot
Nicolás Almagro for his second consecutive title in Acapulco and his 11th career title. Ferrer then traveled to Indian Wells to play in the
2011 BNP Paribas Open. He lost in the second round to big-serving
Ivo Karlović. At
2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he defeated
Igor Kunitsyn,
Somdev Devvarman, and
Marcel Granollers for a spot in the quarterfinals. However, in the quarterfinals, he fell to
Mardy Fish, and later said it was due to indigestion. Ferrer then traveled to Europe to begin the clay-court season. His first tournament was the
2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He beat
Feliciano López,
Milos Raonic,
Viktor Troicki and
Jürgen Melzer to advance to his second Masters 1000 final, where he ultimately fell to
Rafael Nadal. Ferrer then traveled back to Spain to play in the
2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, where he beat
Carlos Berlocq,
Victor Hănescu,
Jürgen Melzer and
Nicolás Almagro for a spot in his third Barcelona final. However, in the final, he lost to
Rafael Nadal for the second week in a row. Ferrer then traveled to Madrid to play in the
2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. He defeated
Adrian Mannarino and
Sergiy Stakhovsky. In the quarterfinals, Ferrer lost to
Novak Djokovic. It was his first defeat in their four meetings on clay. Ferrer then pulled out of Rome, due to injury, but then traveled to Paris to play in the
French Open. At the French Open, Ferrer was seeded seventh. He advanced with easy wins over
Jarkko Nieminen,
Julien Benneteau, and
Sergiy Stakhovsky, before ultimately falling to ninth seed
Gaël Monfils in five sets. Due to his round of 16 appearance, Ferrer moved up to no. 6 in the world. Ferrer then took a month off before traveling to London to play in the
2011 Wimbledon Championships, as the seventh seed. He defeated
Benoît Paire and
Ryan Harrison in five sets. He then defeated
Karol Beck in straight sets to advance to the round of 16. However, he fell to eventual semifinalist
Jo Wilfried Tsonga. After competing in two consecutive majors, Ferrer traveled to Sweden to play in the
2011 Swedish Open. He reached the semifinals, where he defeated
Nicolás Almagro, but lost to
Robin Söderling. Ferrer was then set to begin his summer hard-court series in Toronto, but pulled out with a hairline fracture of his left wrist. He healed in time to play in the
2011 Western & Southern Open. He won his second-round match against
Grigor Dimitrov, before falling to
Gilles Simon. Due to the result, Ferrer entered the top 5 in the ATP rankings again, becoming world no. 5. At the
US Open, he lost in the fourth round to
Andy Roddick in four sets. At the
2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Ferrer defeated
Milos Raonic, former
world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, former world no. 1
Andy Roddick, and
Feliciano López on his way to the final that he lost to second seed
Andy Murray in straight sets. At the
2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Ferrer's first match was against world no. 3
Andy Murray and the Spaniard won it. In his next match against world no. 1
Novak Djokovic, Ferrer won in just 75 minutes, securing his spot in the semifinals. Ferrer lost his last round-robin match to
Tomáš Berdych in three sets. In the semifinals, Ferrer faced the defending champion and world no. 3
Roger Federer and lost in straight sets. In the Davis Cup final in December, Ferrer won his rubber against
Juan Martín del Potro in five sets.
2012: Olympic doubles fourth place, first Masters title, fourth Davis Cup final Ferrer started 2012 by participating in the
Mubadala World Tennis Championship held in
Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates. He defeated world no. 6
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 2
Rafael Nadal to reach his first final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he lost to world no. 1
Novak Djokovic. He won his first tournament of 2012 in Auckland, New Zealand at the Heineken Open ATP 250 (his third Auckland title and 12th Tour title) over
Olivier Rochus. At the
2012 Australian Open, Ferrer was seeded fifth, and he defeated
Rui Machado,
Ryan Sweeting, 27th seed
Juan Ignacio Chela, and 17th seed
Richard Gasquet on his way to the quarterfinals. He then lost to world no. 1
Novak Djokovic in straight sets. At
2012 Copa Claro he won the event, defeating 2011 champion and second seed
Nicolás Almagro. It was Ferrer's second title of the year and 13th of his career. His third singles title of the year and 14th overall came in Acapulco, Mexico a week after his win in Argentina. He beat fellow Spaniard
Fernando Verdasco in the final, losing only three games. At the
2012 Sony Ericsson Open, Ferrer beat
Bernard Tomic,
Julien Benneteau, and
2009 US Open champion
Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where he faced world no. 1
Novak Djokovic. Ferrer lost in straight sets. At the
2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters he lost his second-round match to
Thomaz Bellucci. The following week, Ferrer reached the final at the
2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, after winning over
Filip Krajinović,
Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López, and
Milos Raonic. He then lost the final to defending champion
Rafael Nadal. At the
2012 Muatua Madrid Open, held for the first time on blue clay, Ferrer defeated
Radek Štěpánek and
Nicolás Almagro on his way to the quarterfinals. He then faced world no. 3 and eventual champion
Roger Federer and lost in straight sets. At the
2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Ferrer defeated
Fernando Verdasco,
Gilles Simon, and
Richard Gasquet on his way to the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal. At the
2012 French Open, Ferrer lost only 25 games defeating
Lukáš Lacko,
Benoît Paire,
Mikhail Youzhny, and
Marcel Granollers on his way to the quarterfinals. There he won over world no. 4
Andy Murray and reached his first Roland Garros semifinal. He then lost to defending champion
Rafael Nadal, winning five games. Ferrer won his fourth singles title of the year and 15th overall in
's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. He beat
Pierre-Ludovic Duclos,
Leonardo Mayer,
Igor Sijsling,
Benoît Paire, and
Philipp Petzschner on his way to his second grass singles title. Ferrer then reached the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon, defeating
Dustin Brown,
Kenny de Schepper,
Andy Roddick, and
Juan Martín del Potro. Ferrer made it to the last eight for the first time at the tenth attempt. Ferrer then went on to lose the match to
Andy Murray in a four-set thriller. Ferrer entered the quarterfinals of
Swedish Open by defeating
Simone Bolelli. He eventually advanced to the finals, where he defeated countryman
Nicolás Almagro for his fifth title of the year. At the
US Open, Ferrer made it to his fourth career Grand Slam semifinal, where he lost in four sets to
Novak Djokovic. The semifinal had to be played over two days because of the threat of a tornado on the final Saturday. He had previously defeated
Kevin Anderson,
Igor Sijsling,
Lleyton Hewitt,
Richard Gasquet, and
Janko Tipsarević. Ferrer won his sixth title of the season in Valencia, defeating
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. Ferrer won his first
Masters 1000 title in
Paris at the end of the season, beating
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals,
Michaël Llodra in the semifinals, and
Jerzy Janowicz in the final. This was also his seventh ATP Tour-level title of the year, the most of any player that season. He also won more matches that year than any other player, male or female. In late 2012 Ferrer faced questions about his involvement with doping doctor Luis Garcia del Moral.
2013: French Open final, two Masters finals, world No.3 Ferrer started his
2013 season by successfully defending his
Heineken Open title defeating
Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets. At the Australian Open, Ferrer came back from two sets down to defeat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals. In his semifinal match he was thrashed by eventual champion Djokovic in straight sets, winning only five games. Following the continued absence of
Rafael Nadal from the ATP Tour, Ferrer became the Spanish no. 1 for the first time in his career, re-entering the top 4 in the rankings on 28 January 2013. Ferrer then won his second title of the year at the
Copa Claro defeating
Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets. but lost to Nadal in the
2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel final in Acapulco, winning only two games. He then suffered an early loss at the
2013 BNP Paribas Open, falling to
Kevin Anderson in his first match of the tournament. He then reached the final of
Miami Masters after outlasting
Jürgen Melzer and
Tommy Haas, but lost to
Andy Murray after holding a championship point in the deciding set. Ferrer moved back into the top 4 as a result. Ferrer withdrew from Monte Carlo and was upset by
Dmitry Tursunov at the
Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. Ferrer reached his fifth final of the year at the
Portugal Open facing Wawrinka, but this time falling in straight sets to the Swiss. He then lost to Nadal in back-to-back quarterfinals in the Masters event of
Mutua Madrid Open and
Internazionali BNL d'Italia. At the
French Open, Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final without dropping a set. He defeated three of his compatriots,
Albert Montañés,
Feliciano López, and
Tommy Robredo, all in straight sets, to reach his sixth Grand Slam semifinal. He then defeated sixth seed
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the final, where he was defeated by defending champion
Rafael Nadal. Despite failing to win the title, Ferrer regained the world no. 4 spot from Nadal on the basis of earning more points than the previous year, while Nadal defended his entire points total from 2012. At the
2013 TOPSHELF Open in
's-Hertogenbosch, Ferrer went out in the first round to veteran
Xavier Malisse. His next tournament was
Wimbledon, where he made it to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year before falling to
Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. Ferrer had disastrous US Open tune-ups at the
2013 Rogers Cup and
2013 Western & Southern Open, winning only one match and losing to Russians
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the second round and
Dmitry Tursunov in the third round. He rebounded at the
US Open, losing to
Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals in five sets despite taking the third and fourth sets, in his first loss since 2008 to the Frenchman. He then reached another final, at the
If Stockholm Open facing
Grigor Dimitrov, but lost in three sets to hand the Bulgarian his first title. Ferrer then followed it up with another final appearance at the
Valencia Open 500, where he was the defending champion. However, he fell to
Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets. He reached his third final in as many weeks at the
BNP Paribas Masters, where he was the defending champion after defeating world no. 1
Rafael Nadal, ending a nine-match losing streak to Rafa. However, he lost to
Novak Djokovic in straight sets, despite serving for each set in the tenth game. This was Ferrer's seventh consecutive loss in a final. A big change in December was his parting with coach
Javier Piles, who had been his coach from the beginning of his career. He did not win any matches at the year-end championships for a disappointing end to the year. However, he had his best year-end finish in the rankings at no. 3.
2014: Seventh Masters final and steady ranking Ferrer began his 2014 season losing to
Daniel Brands in the second round of the Qatar Open. He reached the semifinals of the Heineken Open, where he was defeated by
Lu Yen-hsun. Ferrer reached the quarterfinals of the
2014 Australian Open, where he lost to
Tomas Berdych in four sets. In February, Ferrer successfully defended his title at the
2014 Copa Claro, which was his first title of the year. In
2014 Rio Open semifinals, Ferrer was defeated by
Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. At the
2014 Abierto Mexicano Telcel quarterfinals, Ferrer retired against
Kevin Anderson due to leg injury. Ferrer made his return in the
2014 Sony Open Tennis reaching the fourth round before losing to
Kei Nishikori after squandering four match points. He made the semifinals of the
2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. In the quarterfinals, he beat
Rafael Nadal for the first time in 10 years on clay, before losing to
Stanislas Wawrinka in the semifinals. He made the semifinals at the
2014 Mutua Madrid Open, where he lost to
Kei Nishikori. He was defeated by
Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals at the
2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Ferrer made it to the
2014 French Open quarterfinals. He lost to world no. 1 and compatriot,
Rafael Nadal, in four sets. Ferrer was defeated by world no.118
Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round of the
2014 Wimbledon Championships ending his 10 grand slam quarterfinal streak. He made it to the quarterfinals in the
2014 Swedish Open before losing to
Carlos Berlocq in straight sets. He made it to the final of the
2014 International German Open, where was defeated by
Leonardo Mayer. He began his American Swing by reaching quarterfinals of the
2014 Rogers Cup before losing to
Roger Federer. He made it to the final of the
2014 Western & Southern Open. In the final, he was again defeated by
Roger Federer. However,
2014 US Open became a disappointment, when he was defeated by
Gilles Simon. Ferrer was upset by
Viktor Troicki at the
2014 ATP Shenzhen Open. He continued to struggle in the Asian Swing by bowing out against
Marcel Granollers in the
2014 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. He improved in the
2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters by defeating
Martin Klizan and
Andy Murray both coming from a set down. He lost to
Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Ferrer made it to the final of the
2014 Erste Bank Open, losing to
Andy Murray. He made it to the quarterfinals of the
2014 BNP Paribas Masters before losing to
Kei Nishikori. As a result, he failed to qualify for the
2014 ATP World Tour Finals, but later replaced
Milos Raonic in the group phase when the latter had to withdraw due to an injury. He lost his match against
Kei Nishikori in three sets and finished the year ranked no.10.
2015: Return to form and continued success Ferrer began his
2015 season at the
Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he won his 22nd ATP World Tour title by defeating
Tomáš Berdych in the final in straight sets. He was then scheduled to play at the
Heineken Open in Auckland a week later, but withdrew due to fatigue. At the
2015 Australian Open, he made it to the fourth round, losing to
Kei Nishikori. In February, Ferrer won back-to-back titles at the
2015 Rio Open and
2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel by defeating
Fabio Fognini and
Kei Nishikori, respectively. In May, Ferrer made the semifinals of the
Rome Masters, before being defeated by
Novak Djokovic, matching his best performance at the tournament since 2012. Next, Ferrer competed at the 2015 French Open getting through the first two rounds without dropping a set. Then, Ferrer beat
Simone Bolelli in the third round in a close five-setter, as well as defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach his fourth French Open quarterfinal, before losing to
Andy Murray in four sets. However, Ferrer lost his first match on grass at Queen's Club and withdrew from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury. He was eliminated early at the US Open. Ferrer proceeded to win his 25th career title at the Kuala Lumpur Open, defeating compatriot
Feliciano López. This marked the first ever all-Spanish final and Ferrer became the first ever Spaniard to win the title in Kuala Lumpur. Winning the title, he also maintained his 4–0 wins in finals in 2015. He continued his winning streak by winning the
Ersta Bank Open in Vienna, defeating
Fabio Fognini,
Gaël Monfils and
Steve Johnson to bring his finals record in 2015 to 5–0.
2016: Out of top 20 Ferrer started his season in an exhibition at the
Mubadala World Tennis Championships. Ferrer easily defeated
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and then lost to
Rafael Nadal in a close three-setter. Ferrer then beat
Stan Wawrinka in the third place match. At the
Qatar Open Ferrer lost in the first round to
Illya Marchenko, despite winning the first set. Ferrer then competed at
Auckland. Ferrer made it through to the semifinals after defeating qualifier
Matthew Barton and
Lukáš Rosol, but lost to
Jack Sock despite winning the first set. Ferrer then played in the first Grand Slam of the year at the
Australian Open. Ferrer defeated qualifier
Peter Gojowczyk and
Lleyton Hewitt, who was playing his last career singles match, 31st seed
Steve Johnson and 10th seed
John Isner. Ferrer reached the quarterfinals without having lost a set. In the quarterfinals, Ferrer lost to second seed
Andy Murray in four sets. At the
Argentina Open. Ferrer defeated
Renzo Olivo and
Pablo Cuevas, before losing to
Nicolás Almagro in straight sets in the semifinals. At the
Rio Open, Ferrer defeated
Nicolás Jarry and
Albert Ramos-Viñolas. Ferrer's tournament came to an end in the quarterfinals when he lost to
Dominic Thiem in straight sets. Ferrer fell in the second round of the
Mexican Open to
Alexandr Dolgopolov and the second round of the
Miami Open to
Lucas Pouille to end his hard-court season. To begin the clay-court season, Ferrer competed at the
Madrid Open, defeating both
Guillermo García-López and
Denis Kudla in three sets, before falling to
Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. He followed this up with another third-round appearance in the
Rome Masters, this time losing to Pouille in straight sets. He began the
French Open well, defeating
Evgeny Donskoy,
Juan Mónaco and
Feliciano López before again falling to Berdych in straight sets. The grass-court season did not go nearly as well, bowing out in the first round of
Halle to
Andreas Seppi and the second round of
Wimbledon to
Nicolas Mahut. The hard-court season began with the Olympics for Ferrer. Ferrer got through the first round against
Denis Istomin, before falling to Donskoy in a tightly contested match. The
Cincinnati Masters saw another first-round exit, this time at the hands of
Julien Benneteau. Ferrer began the
US Open by defeating Dolgopolov in the first round and
Fabio Fognini in the second, before falling to an in-form
Juan Martín del Potro in the third round, matching his performance of the previous two years at the tournament.
2017–18: Last title, final Grand Slam appearance After playing in two 250-level Pacific warm-up events, Ferrer competed in the
2017 Australian Open. He defeated two qualifiers before falling to compatriot
Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. This marked Ferrer's earliest exit at the tournament since 2010. In July of the same year, Ferrer won his first tournament since October 2015 at the
2017 Swedish Open, defeating Ukrainian
Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. In the
Cincinnati Masters, Ferrer defeated world No. 8
Dominic Thiem to reach the semifinals where he lost to
Nick Kyrgios in two tiebreak sets. In his final grand slam appearance, Ferrer was drawn to face compatriot and long-time rival
Rafael Nadal in the opening round of the
2018 US Open. The match came to a premature end in the middle of the second set when Ferrer was forced to retire from the match with a calf injury.
2019: Retirement On 15 August 2018,
Hopman Cup organisers announced that Ferrer would represent Spain at the 2019 edition alongside
Garbiñe Muguruza. It was his debut appearance at this tournament. On 28 August 2018, Ferrer announced that the
2019 season would be his last in the tour. He also announced a preliminary list of 6 tournaments in which he wanted to compete during his final season: the
Hopman Cup,
Auckland,
Buenos Aires,
Acapulco,
Barcelona and
Madrid. At the
Miami Masters, Ferrer battled from a set down to defeat world number 3
Alexander Zverev. This was Ferrer's first top 3 victory in almost 5 years. Ferrer would cross the path of Alexander Zverev again at his final tournament, the
Madrid Masters. From 4–1 up in the first set, he lost 6–4, 6–1, thus ending his career. Ferrer announced that he would be the new director of the Barcelona Open. Albert Costa was the previous director of the tournament for 11 years. == Coaching career ==