There was an expectation that the battle of running machines David Ferrer and Marcos Baghdatis would last the distance on night five of Australian Open 2013.
How wrong could we have been?
Ferrer was so dominant in his 6-4 6-2 6-3 whitewash of Baghdatis that he must start to factor into the conversations when it comes to the last Sunday in January.
The fourth seed played like the fourth seed should, stamping his authority over the contest from the outset and mercilessly driving his opponent into the ground.
Ferrer has lived in the shadows of Rafael Nadal in his home country, but with Rafa out of the picture at the Open due to illness, injury and subsequent recovery, he has the whole of Spain in his corner as he strives for a long awaited first Grand Slam title.
The 30-year-old is no stranger to the final four, a semi-finalist twice at the US Open and once each at the Australian and French opens. But, you still get the sneak-under-the-radar feel about him.
He is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray or Nadal, probably because they are the hurdles he has most trouble with and nobody remembers the beaten semi finalist, do they?
Ferrer’s performance tonight, watched by a full house at Rod Laver Arena, on primetime on television in Australia and undoubtedly by millions of Spaniards still munching on their breakfast, was a reminder that he can seriously play.
The No. 5 ranked player in the world produced a near flawless game.
He did what he does best – run until he can run no more and then some. Think Energizer bunny on a tennis court. That is not new, speed and endurance is a trait this great athlete has shown time and again.
The most impressive aspect of Ferrer’s game was his incredible touch, be it dropping a shot at the net, slicing on the run or punching the ball from the back court.
Some of Ferrer’s cross-court forehands left Baghdatis, who was powerless to do anything about them, shaking his head in disbelief at what he had seen.
Ferrer’s serve was effective, broken just twice, but perhaps it is a slight concern that his fastest serve was 192kmh.
The tell-tale sign of Ferrer’s dominance was the noise – or lack thereof – of Baghdatis’ fan club. They reserved their loudest chants for Ferrer’s post game interview with Channel 7 commentator Jim Courier, drowning out the quietly spoken winner.
Ferrer, who won the Auckland Open in the days leading up to Melbourne, could not have asked for a better start to 2013.
”Tonight, it was my best match on this week,” he said in broken English. ”I’m very happy for that. For to win in three sets, Marcos, is
difficult, no? And I did.”
”I start very good the season. Tonight I play very good.”
Earlier in the night, second seed Maria Sharapova continued her awesome start to the Open with a 6-1 6-3 annihilation of Venus Williams.
Australian Open
Day 5
Matches of the day: In the men’s singles, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson shocked a frustrated Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, coming back from two sets to one down to win in five. On the women’s side, Ana Ivanovic beat compatriot Jelena Jankovic in straight sets in the battle of the Serbians at Hisense Arena.
Tomorrow’s picks: The whole of the nation will be watching to see if Australia’s last hope Bernard Tomic can take it up to Swiss maestro Roger Federer in the men’s singles night action at Rod Laver Arena. In the women’s singles, centre court ticket holders to the afternoon session will be spoilt with top seed Victoria Azarenko and third seed Serena Williams both in action.
