By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, October 4, 2015
Top-seeded David Ferrer defeated No. 2-seeded Feliciano Lopez, 7-5, 7-5, to capture his 25th career title in Kuala Lumpur.
Photo credit: Malaysian Open
In a final of friends and top two seeds, David Ferrer was second to none.
The top-seeded Ferrer defeated Feliciano Lopez, 7-5, 7-5, in an all-Spanish final to capture his 25th career title at the Malaysian Open. Ferrer is the first Spaniard to rule Kuala Lumpur.
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"I feel very happy, because I have never played so well at this tournament," Ferrer said. "I played my best match of the week in this final, and my sensations after my elbow injury are now very good. Feliciano is a good tennis player, but an even better person. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”
Ferrer broke serve in the final game of both sets, taking an 9-6 lead in his head-to-head series with his former David Cup teammate and sometime practice partner.
It is Ferrer's fourth title of the season following victories on hard courts of Doha and Acapulco and a title on the red clay of Rio de Janeiro. Ferrer raised his record to 4-0 in finals this season.
This 15th meeting between the veterans saw Ferrer put the left-handed Lopez under pressure on serve.
Ferrer won 60 percent of points played on Lopez's second serve and converted three of 11 break points to secure a 93-minute victory in the first all-Spanish final of the season.
"I think I did what I needed to do in order to beat David, which is to play aggressively," Lopez said. "After I got the break in the first set, I got broken right away serving with the new balls, which was unusual. David played a lot more consistent after that, and made it difficult for me to win points, to shorten the points."
The 33-year-old Ferrer served 72 percent and dropped serve just once winning his first Kuala Lumpur title after falling in the semifinals in 2010 and 2012.