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TENNIS

Ferrer: the new master

Spaniard takes his first ATP 1000 event title in Paris "Somehow I knew this time was my turn to win a first Masters title"

Juan José Mateo
David Ferrer returns the ball to Jerzy Janowicz of Poland during their final match on Sunday in Paris.
David Ferrer returns the ball to Jerzy Janowicz of Poland during their final match on Sunday in Paris.Yoan Valat (EFE)

David Ferrer added yet another title to his already rich haul for 2012 in Paris on Sunday, taking home the first Masters 1000 trophy of his career.

The Spaniard ended Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz’s remarkable run at the tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the final.

The Paris Masters triumph means Ferrer has now won 72 matches and seven titles this season — more than any other player.

“It is a dream to win here in Paris,” the world number five told Spain’s TVE state television network. “It is a dream that I have been chasing for a long time and the truth is it is like a thorn being removed from my side.”

World number 69 Janowicz, who knocked out five top-20 players on his way to Sunday’s final, including Andy Murray and Janko Tipsaveric, won the first break point of the match in game nine but failed to take advantage and Ferrer took the first set in the very next game.

The 21-year-old qualifier eventually got his break in the third game of the second set after he successfully challenged a Ferrer forehand that had been called in. However, his unforced errors allowed the man from Alicante to break straight back for 2-2.

Ferrer, who had lost his three previous Masters finals, broke again on the Pole’s next service game and from then on was in control of the match. He fell to the floor as Janowicz’s backhand went wide to hand him victory on his first match point.

“I was very nervous because it was my chance to win a first Masters title, but somehow I knew this time it was my turn,” Ferrer told a court-side interviewer.

He now heads off to compete in the ATP World Tour finals, which begin in London on Monday. The result makes him the first player from outside the top four to win a Masters 1000 since 2010. It also puts him on a par with Àlex Corretja as the Spanish player with the most indoor hard court competition victories to his name (three).

Meanwhile, Janowicz’s giant-killing antics mean he will now find himself among the top 30 when the new ATP rankings are published on Monday.

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