Federer and Ferrer Battle for Spot in Madrid Final

Roger Federer avenged his defeat to Gulbis in Rome yesterday when he beat the Latvian rising starlet in the Madrid Open quarters. Federer, who is the defending champion in Madrid, is a win away from the final, and a chance to bid for a second consecutive Madrid Open title.

Standing in his way is Spaniard, David Ferrer who is flush off a victory over Andy Murray in the quarters. Ferrer comes into Madrid after a runner-up finish in Rome and playing some of the best clay-court tennis of his career.

Recommending Federer on the outright win is a perfect record against Ferrer. Le maestro is a convincing 9-0 lifetime over Ferrer – setting the bar rather high for the Spaniard.

Just how high: in 9 meetings, 21 sets, spanning all surfaces, Ferrer has zero wins and two sets to his name.

The overwhelming volume of betting that is to come down the wire will surely fall in line with Federer’s odds. Few would consider betting against him, especially now that he has seemingly got his game into gear and is on the verge of the Madrid final – and a possible rematch against Rafael Nadal, many are hoping.

Truth is though Ferrer is at a disadvantage because his match against Murray didn’t end until the wee hours of the morning. One has to wonder how fit he will be for a Fed-test.

More likely than not Federer will emerge triumphant over Ferrer and advance into the final. He is the man most will be looking to back; however, having said that Ferrer to upset Federer is not as unlikely as it may seem initially. Sure, his mark against Federer leaves something to be desired but he only need be better than Federer for the duration of this match. The way he has been playing these past few weeks certainly suggest he might finally have his day against Fed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.