Viña Winner Falls to Ferrer
Fabio Fognini had the goods at the first event of the “Latin American Swing” in Viña del Mar, but couldn’t keep the pace with David Ferrer in Buenos Aires.
With the Viña victory, Fognini wrapped up the third title of his career, but on the other side of the Andes the Italian was overpowered by David Ferrer, who went on to win the Buenos Aires event for the third time in a row.
With Rafael Nadal’s late withdrawal, the final brought together the two top seeds. Ferrer, ranked number five in the world took his 21st title in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. It was Fognini’s fifth straight final in clay court tournaments. Ferrer was not the man he wanted to face though, with the Spaniard going on to his seventh victory against Fognini. The Royal Guard Open champion is yet to beat Ferrer.
With a new ranking tomorrow, Chilean Christian Garín is likely to rise in the standings after fighting through the qualifiers to reach the main draw. After bowing out in the first round in Viña del Mar, the young Chilean saw his rankings plummet 60 places.
Muy contento por mi victoria en Bs As. Foto con @martatornel y mi preparador físico David Andres. 21!! pic.twitter.com/Np7hpHmOD4
— David Ferrer (@DavidFerrer87) February 16, 2014
For the winning finalists it was finally a break from finishing runner-up, with Ferrer’s 2013 filled with seven second places, with his last tournament victory coming at the same event in 2013. It was also a triple triple, with the Spaniard having won three times in Auckland and Acapulco.
Ferrer’s victory leaves him equal with countryman Nicolás Almagro for the most victories on the “Latin American Swing”, which is also known as the “Golden Swing” after the Olympic efforts of Fernando González and Nicolás Massú. Each of the Spanish players now have 6 titles in the Latin events. The next stop on the swing will be the Brasil Open, where Nadal will join the action.
The win will take Ferrer to number 4 on the ATP rankings, with Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro’s quarter final exit in Rotterdam seeing him ready to lose his place.
About the Author
Daniel Boyle Founder of @sportslashlife. Australian living in Chile. Freestyle footbag player and passionate sports fan.
Related Posts
Moving to Chile – 10 Years On – Tom Maher →
Moving to Chile – 10 Years On →
Chile Defeat Canada to Keep Rugby World Cup Dreams Alive →
