David Ferrer has long been considered as the best player on the ATP Tour with no Grand Slam wins in his career. He gets a shot to take one more step toward his first-ever Grand Slam title when he takes on Feliciano Lopez in the third round of the French Open.
Will it be another heart-breaking loss for Ferrer, or will he play some of the best tennis of his life to get closer to his goal? Read on as we take a look at this sizzling match between two of Spain’s best. For more on the French Open Men’s Singles, check out our complete previews for Pablo Cuevas vs. Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka vs. Jeremy Chardy.
David Ferrer is feeling right at home on clay, as he’s been great through the first two rounds of the French Open. The Spaniard beat Evgeny Donskoy 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round, and then overcame a slow start against Juan Monaco on Thursday to eventually win in four sets (6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2). Playing on clay gives 34-year-old righty plenty of advantages, as he gets to use his athleticism and excellent baseline play due to the slower surface of clay.
Ferrer won 63 percent of his first serve points in his victory over Monaco in the second round. His performance on serve still has plenty to be desired about, and he also complemented it with an excellent return game, winning 51 percent of his receiving points against Monaco. The World No. 11’s return game could be the deciding factor in this upcoming match against Feliciano Lopez.
Ferrer has won 42 percent of his return points in his last six matches against Lopez, all victories. It’s going to be difficult to stop him especially once he gets his service game going.
Betting on Feliciano Lopez
Feliciano Lopez was all power in the second round of the French Open. He fired off 15 aces and won 83 percent of his first serve points in a 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-3 victory over Victor Estrella Burgos. Power will be one of the biggest factors in Lopez’ style as he takes on fellow countryman David Ferrer in the third round of the French Open.
Lopez has fallen victim to Ferrer in their past six head-to-head matchups. Before the losing streak, the former had won six of his first nine head-to-head matchups against the latter. The 34-year-old Lopez showed plenty of improvement translating his power on clay in the second round of Roland Garros. He also showed some improvement in his return game, as he won 39 percent of his receiving points. However, Lopez also had difficulty closing out break points, winning just 3 of 13 on break point opportunities.
What could be a potent weapon for Lopez is his net game, as he has won 63 percent of his net-point opportunities through the first two rounds of the tournament. With that in mind, he can certainly approach the net for the perfect shot once he gets Ferrer running back-and-forth on extended rallies.
Lopez is 6-5 in his last 11 matches on clay.
Writer’s Prediction
Ferrer (-380) takes a four-set victory over his compatriot.
