David Ferrer, Spanish no.2 and world no.5,
meets Spanish no.3 and World no.11 Nicolas Almagro in the quarter-finals of Australian Open 2013.
Ferrer is into the quarter-finals for the 3rd straight year, while Almagro is
making his debut into the Australian Open quarter-final.
Ferrer will be aiming to reach his second
Australian Open semi-final, while Almagro will be looking to book a place in
his first grand slam semi-final.
Ferrer has reached his 5th straight
Grand-Slam quarter-final, and will be looking to move on. The pair have met 12
times before, with Ferrer winning all the meetings.
Almagro has lost 2 sets while Ferrer has
lost one set so far in the tournament. It should be a great match-up considering the level of
both players. However, you can never rely on Almagro.
Let us have a look at the performance of
the players so far in the tournaments.
The stats used have been avearge stats for
the 4 matches played by players so far in the tournament.
| Description | Ferrer | Almagro |
| Aces | 4 | 17 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 2 |
| 1st Serve %age | 64% | 56% |
| 1st serve points won | 72% | 82% |
| 2nd serve points won | 56% | 63% |
| Net points won | 75% | 67% |
| Break points won | 46% | 44% |
| 1st serve return won | 43% | 25% |
| 2nd serve return won | 57% | 60% |
| Winners | 25 | 37 |
| Unforced Errors | 24 | 24 |
The match will come down to 3 things:
Serve: Almagro has clearly been serving
better than Ferrer so far as the numbers indicate. An interesting thing is that
Ferrer has lost serve 9 times and lost just one set, while Almagro has lost
serve just 4 times and lost 2 sets. Almagro will have to increase his first
serve percentage if he wants to have a chance against David Ferrer.
Winners-Unforced Errors: Ferrer has a
differential of +1, while Almagro has a differential of +13. If Almagro keeps
up this number and repeats it in the match against Ferrer, he will definitely
stand a greater chance of winning thematch. Ferrer is one of the most atheletic
and fit persons on the tour with one of the best defensive skills, Almagro will
have to play smartly and patiently to have a chance against Ferrer.
Nerves: The player who lets the nerves in,
will definitely go down. Ferrer handles his composure better than Almagro, and
is more focused and concentrated, but just as Davydenko showed in Doha, Ferrer
can be blown off court with offensive play.
Nicolas Almagro will come in looking for a
few firsts. A first win over David Ferrer, a first major semi-final appearance
and a first Australian Open semi-final, Ferrer on the other hand will be
seeking to keep his quest of winning his maiden slam going on.
Who do you think will prevail in this Spanish derby?
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