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Honor and Final Farewells to the Tennis Warrior, David Ferrer

David Ferrer will be honored during his farewell tour "victory lap" at the Barcelona Open Final! On Wednesday, he upset the 15th seed Pouille in straight sets, setting up an all Spaniard match with Rafael Nadal (some of the best clay court points ever played by these two warriors).

David Ferrer victory over Pouille at Barcelona 500


On his goodbye tour to the tennis world...




David Ferrer: A Smaller man with a Bigger Heart.
"Un hombre más pequeño con un corazón más grande"
I was able to catch up with him during his practice at his final US Open at Flushing Meadows, NY. This was a warrior whose battlefield was on the tennis court.

His soul and heart are bigger than anyone else out there. Some of the most thrilling clay court matches played against Nadal back in 2011.

Wearing his Lotto Shoes and white bandanna, he was always as motivated in training as in competition.

A man I watched fighting for his life on the tour and winning matches against much harder hitters and bigger, stronger opponents - he was the underdog you wanted to cheer for.

Sweat flying everywhere and shoes squeaking on every pivot and short angle drive. Full of energy and vigor, he was a beast even on the practice courts.

He put 100% of his energy and every ounce of his 5'9 frame into everything he did.
His compatriots and competitors all respected him and admired his Spirit.

 At the end of your career, this is perhaps the most rewarding memory - the Praise and Respect from your peers who come out to salute you from the Sport and Career he loved and loved him equally on Tour.
His footwork, his tireless ground game, his tenacity to play every point like his last...this fire reminds me of the top form Nadal in the late 2000's era. Ferrer never slowed down or compromised his style; even in his 30's, he always ran down everything and hit with tons of topspin on almost everything.

Ferrer has a iTusa tennis academy camp in Spain (looks like a great summer camp for kids) and also one satellite branch out in Glendale, Arizona.

Knowing the feeling being the smaller grinder on court, I employed a very similar style of the Spanish System with angled and on-the-rise offense. It got me to at the top of my game as Mid-Atlantic #1 singles playing USTA starting as a 3.0 player a few years prior. Pity I never had a chance to attend his iTUSA academy but I'm sure it must be a very exhausting program.


This year, it is my goal to wish him his final goodbye as we salute this great tennis warrior one last time. It will be a very long time before we see another like David on the tour.

2019 Miami Open win over Sacha Zverev


We return to the Spanish clay one last at Barcelona and Madrid Opens to see David Ferrer.

In July there will be the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona but there are smaller Running of the Bull events in Madrid as well in the summer.

Bullfighting culture is strong in Madrid. I visited this great capital city and the historic bull ring in the city center a decade ago. Photos from the trip: https://www.flickr.com/photos/demiace/albums/72157619938530285