David Ferrer continued the unusual trend in men's tennis this year of players that are 35 or older winning titles on tour. Ferrer defeated the much younger Alexandr Dolgopolov in the Bastad final, a clay court event played in Sweden. Ferrer won the title ahead of Andrey Rublev winning in Umag, a player who is at the start of what appears to be a blossoming tennis career on the ATP Tour.
All totaled, there are eight titles this season that have been won by players that are at least 35 years old. Those are as follows:
- Ferrer winning ATP Bastad at the age of 35
- Feliciano Lopez winning the Aegon Championships (ATP London) at the age of 35
- Roger Federer winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Miami, and Halle all at the age of 35
- Victor Estrella Burgos winning ATP Quito at the age of 36
Ferrer not washed up
For Ferrer, his title at Bastad came just when it looked like his number was up on tour.
The Spaniard had not won a title since the 2015 season and had drifted in the rankings considerably. He spoke of his relief after winning with ATP following the Bastad final:
"It's been two years that I haven't won a tournament, so I'm really happy for this win...I tried to be focused on every point, but when I had all those match points I was thinking too much," Ferrer claimed (qtd. by the ATP). "I am going week by week...and I still have the motivation. I know it will be very difficult to get back to the Top 10, but if I stay competitive like this week, I will play next year for sure. I still enjoy playing tennis, but it's different as I am 35 years old."
His reference to playing "week by week" is important.
Next on his calendar is ATP Hamburg, a part of the 500 series on the ATP Tour. Ferrer will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round. However, there is a chance that Ferrer will not play in Hamburg due to fatigue. Otherwise, he is seeded 8th and he has a difficult draw to the semifinals.
Andrey Rublev at other end of age spectrum
Rublev winning in Umag represents something very different than Ferrer's title. While Ferrer is at the tail end of his career, Rublev is trying to make a name for himself. Winning a lower-tiered title will certainly help with that. The 19-year-old won what was his first title at the tour level by beating Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday.
The title was mildly impressive as Rublev only dropped one set during the entire week. Although he did not have to play a major tour talent, Rublev did take out two seeds in claiming the title. Besides fourth-seeded Lorenzi, Rublev also eliminated Fabio Fognini. The Russian was only in the tournament as a so-called "lucky loser." That means that he fell in qualifying, but replaced a player in the draw after its official release.
Rublev is also in the Hamburg draw, but his success there may not be the same as it was in Umag. The Russian, like Ferrer, must be entering the tournament fatigued. Hamburg will be played over the next week and it appears to be a tournament Karen Khachanov might emerge as a key player in. Other events that will be running next week include ATP Atlanta and ATP Gstaad. The former is a hard court event while the latter, like Hamburg, Umag, and Bastad, will be played on clay.
