Ferrer Reaches First Monte-Carlo Final

© AFP/Getty ImagesDavid Ferrer reached his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final.

World No. 6 David Ferrer reached his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final on Saturday as he defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

The Spaniard reached his first final at this level last year at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal. He also recorded his 100th Masters 1000-level victory with his straight-sets win over Viktor Troicki in the quarter-finals on Friday.

“I'm very pleased to be in the finals,” said Ferrer. “It can be either Rome or Monte Carlo. I'm very pleased to be in a final of a Masters 1000. I was once in Rome, and I want to do that again. I had hoped that I would feel so well [on clay]. I'm full of confidence. I feel good physically, and also with my tennis. I hope I'll keep going.”

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The fourth-seeded Ferrer endured a difficult start to the match as he struggled to find his rhythm. He managed to hold off Melzer in the first game by saving three break points, but the attacking Austrian broke through in the third game as he quickly established a 3-1 lead. It did not take long for Ferrer to settle, though, and when he reined in his errors he quickly took control of the match, reeling off the next five games to clinch the opening set.

Melzer again started the second set looking the more threatening of the two players, but he failed to convert his two break point chances in Ferrer’s opening service game and paid the price. Ferrer capitalised on a low first serve percentage from the Austrian, which dwindled at 47 per cent throughout the match, and broke serve to love in the fifth game before going on to close out victory in 78 minutes.

“I was thinking at the beginning of the first games, he played a really good game, was playing very aggressive. [It was] a surprise to me,” reflected Ferrer. “Maybe the key was in my serve. I played very consistent. I didn't make mistakes. I played very regular and very focused all the match."

The 29-year-old Ferrer is through to his third ATP World Tour final of the season, and second on clay. He opened the year with victory on hard court in Auckland (d. Nalbandian), and the following month won the ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament in Acapulco (d. Almagro).

Defeat for the No. 9-ranked Melzer brought the Austrian crashing back down to earth after his first career victory over 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer a day earlier in the quarter-finals. The 2010 Roland Garros semi-finalist was contesting his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final.

"[It] was no problem [focusing after beating Federer]," said Melzer. "If you're in the semi-finals, you want to win no matter who you beat the day before. I knew it's going to be a tough match, but I'm a little bit disappointed. I think the score is a little bit too easy than what the match was like.

"Tomorrow I'll be very happy with the way I played this week. I've never really had a great start in a clay-court season, so I'm very positive to play the next tournament."