ABU DHABI // Rafael Nadal has defeated David Ferrer in 21 of their 26 official meetings over the years, won two Mubadala World Tennis Championship and has the type of hall-of-fame pedigree that would cause many foes to cringe.
That certainly is not the case at the moment with the feisty Ferrer, who easily won his opening-round match at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex on Thursday night and will face the reigning world No 1 in the semi-finals on Friday.
“I think I have a chance with Rafael on a hard court,” said Ferrer, the world No 3.
The Spaniard, 31, probably the most brutally honest player in tennis, would not make that assessment if it did not contain an element of truth. While the record between the compatriots is lopsided, Ferrer has a 4-4 record against Nadal on hard-court surfaces, such as that at the Zayed Sports City venue.
Ferrer ousted the world No 8 Stanislas Wawrinka in 70 minutes in a 7-5, 6-1 victory that was more emphatic than the score line.
After Wawrinka broke Ferrer’s serve to take a 5-3 lead in the first set, Ferrer won nine games in succession to take command.
“Stan, I think maybe he lost his focus a little bit,” Ferrer said.
Not much chance of that happening to Ferrer, especially against Nadal, 27. They played six times in 2013, with Nadal winning five. Ferrer beat Nadal in Paris last season but lost to him in London, Rome, Madrid, Acapulco and, most notably, at the finals of the French Open. The latter was Ferrer’s first appearance in a grand slam final.
Ferrer laughed when it was noted how often the two have played of late. Today’s match “will be another one”, he said.
In a way, Ferrer is a different player from the man who played in Abu Dhabi 12 months ago – and that is not a reference to the 70-minute pummelling he suffered at the hands of Novak Djokovic in his first Mubadala match last year.
In an off-season surprise, Ferrer this month parted ways with his coach of 15 years, Javier Piles, odd timing in that 2013 marked his highest world ranking and his first grand slam final.
Wawrinka had trouble with his serve, putting only 48 per cent of his first serves in play. He said he was impressed by Ferrer, an overachiever who few like to face as he fights to the end of every point.
“That is why he is so good for so many years, and why he has that ranking,” Wawrinka said. “It’s always a good fight.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
WIDE%20VIEW
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
The%20specs
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Juliet, Naked
Dir: Jesse Peretz
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke
Two stars