David Ferrer topples Philipp Kohlschreiber to lift the crown – Heineken Open 2013
In a clash between top two seeds, David Ferrer crushed the German number one Philipp Kohlschreiber with a breadstick at the Heineken Open 2013 on Saturday. He jolted down a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory against the second seed to grab his 19th career title
at this Australian Open lead-up tournament taking place in Auckland, New Zealand.
Seeded top in this event, Ferrer showed his best tennis to outclass the German veteran in their 10th meeting. After stealing the show in one hour and 18 minutes, Ferrer not only grabbed the title for the third straight time at this outdoor hard
court tournament. He also improved to a 7-3 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series against Kohlschreiber.
The 30-year-old stated in a post match press conference after picking his fourth title at this tournament:
“I’m really happy, because I did a new record for my career. It’s really nice to win one ATP tournament, but four times is very difficult. I think the first set was the key. He served to win the first set, but he didn’t take his chance. I tried to fight
for every point and in the important moments, I was there. In the tie-break, I played better.”
Ferrer made a sloppy entry at the ASB Tennis Centre. He suffered the first blow in the third game and fell at 1-3. Despite recovering in the eighth game, the Spaniard lost his serve again and went 4-5 down. However, he not only snatched his break back again
but dominated in the tie-breaker to click the opener with a 7-6(5) win.
Ranked fifth in the world, Ferrer went berserk in the proceeding set. After Kohlschreiber held his serve in the opening game, the Spaniard unleashed barrage of winners and reeled six games in a row to pocket a breadstick.
The German star reflected after bowing out to the Spanish number two, “Twice, I was a break up and had a good opportunity to take the set. I played really well, but I think after winning the first set, he missed almost nothing. I really enjoyed it.”
Both contestants are looking forward to carry their rhythm at the Australian Open starting on Monday.