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By Erik Gudris | Friday, August 18, 2017

 
David Ferrer

David Ferrer outplayed Dominic Thiem to reach his first ATP Masters semifinal in two years at Cincinnati.

Photo Credit: Getty Images


35-year-old David Ferrer is turning back the clock this week at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The Spanish veteran now finds himself in his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal in nearly two years after posting a dominant win over No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem in Friday’s quarterfinals.

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Ferrer produced winners from all sides of the court to complete the 6-3, 6-3 win that earned him his first top 10 win in two and a half years. In fact, it was perhaps his best performance so far this season from the former top 10 stalwart.

Ferrer jumped out early in the opening set by breaking Thiem. He backed that up with strong serving that allowed him to build a 5-2 lead. With another strong serve, Ferrer closed out the set 6-3.

Ferrer, currently ranked No. 31, became a human highlight reel in the opening game of the second set. Ferrer executed a perfect drop volley winner and then backed that up with a perfect backhand down the line winner for break point. Thiem fought back with several big winners of his own, but finally surrendered the break to give Ferrer yet another lead.


Ferrer showed great willingness to move forward and finish off points up at net. At one stage, Ferrer was a perfect 10 for 10 up at net. For Thiem, the night proved a frustrating one.

Thiem was often defending from far beyond the baseline in the rallies, while his signature one-handed backhand produced multiple errors - a total of 19 for the match.

Thiem managed to break Ferrer back later in the set for 3-all. But that would not prove to be a momentum shift. Thiem again faced break points on his serve in the next game. Ferrer broke again when Thiem sent yet another backhand well long.

Down the stretch, Thiem tried to go for big winners but failed to stop Ferrer’s march to victory. Ferrer, once again holding break points later while up 5-3 would eventually seal the deal thanks to yet another Thiem groundstroke error.


Ferrer now finds himself in an ATP Masters 1000 SF for the first time since Paris in 2015. He’ll face the winner of the last quarterfinal between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios.


 

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