News Sports Tennis Australian Open: Ferrer beats Almagro to reach semis

Australian Open: Ferrer beats Almagro to reach semis

Melbourne, Jan 22: David Ferrer fought from two sets down to beat his Spanish Davis Cup teammate Nicolas Almagro to book a semifinal spot at the Melbourne Park here Tuesday.Tenth-seeded Almagro served for the match

australian open ferrer beats almagro to reach semis australian open ferrer beats almagro to reach semis
Melbourne, Jan 22: David Ferrer fought from two sets down to beat his Spanish Davis Cup teammate Nicolas Almagro to book a semifinal spot at the Melbourne Park here Tuesday.



Tenth-seeded Almagro served for the match three times in the third set only to blow his chances to reach his first ever Grand Slam semifinal as No.4 seed Ferrer charged back to win 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-2 in three hours and 44 minutes, reports Xinhua.

"It was a miracle that I won this match. Nicolas had a lot of chances to beat me and I tried to fight for every point," said Ferrer.

"I could see that he was cramping in the fifth set and he played with little power and I was focused on every point," he added.

Almagro had never beaten his compatriot in 12 previous attempts but appeared set to put the record straight when he took the first two sets and was serving for the third at 5-4.

But the Spaniard wasted the opportunity and failed twice more in the fourth set to serve out for the match as Ferrer fought to seal his progression.

Ferrer finished too strongly for Almagro with two more service breaks in the fifth set to take his 500th Tour-level career match win.