Andujar Sets All-Spanish Final In Stuttgart

© MercedesCup/P. ZimmerJuan Carlos Ferrero is playing just his third tournament of the season.

Experience made the difference in the first of the MercedesCup semi-finals on Saturday, as former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero broke serve in the final game of a closely fought match to defeat Argentine qualifier Federico del Bonis 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours.

"The victory today was very important because I’m coming back from injury and winning four matches in a row, getting some rhythm and happiness and confidence," said Ferrero. "The key for me today was mentally staying positive all the time."

The Spaniard put an end to a spirited campaign by the No. 240-ranked del Bonis, who had recorded his first ever victories on the ATP World Tour, including upsetting fifth seed Florian Mayer in the first round, to reach the semi-finals.

"He was playing very powerfully with his forehand, and today with the sun the ball was unbelievably fast, making it very easy to make mistakes," said Ferrero, who trailed by a set and a break. "Tennis is very tough and he hasn’t played many matches on the tour at the moment, so perhaps he played with a little bit too much respect, but I think at the end I played aggressive and the last game was very important."

The 31-year-old Ferrero has swiftly worked his way back into form this week, playing in just his third tournament of the year. The 2003 Roland Garros champion has been troubled with wrist and knee injuries, but despite a lack of match practice, has advanced to his 34th tour-level final.

Ferrero won three ATP World Tour titles last year, all on clay, with his most recent victory coming just under a year ago in Umag (d. Starace). Since then he had played just three tournaments coming into Stuttgart.

In the final, Ferrero will look to win his 16th tour-level title when he faces fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who beat an in-form Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his second final of the season. "I think there were some points that could change the [result] for him to win," believed Andujar. "He had some break points in the third set. I saved them and I broke him once again... I fought a lot and I'm really happy."

Like Ferrero, Andujar broke his opponent in the final game of the match to claim victory in two hours and 24 minutes. The win saw the World No. 55 avenge his loss to Kubot in Stuttgart two years ago in the pair’s lone previous meeting. Kubot had won eight of 10 matches coming into Saturday's semi-final and dropped to a 15-12 record with the loss.

Ferrero and Andjuar have met once, with Andujar advancing in Barcelona in 2007 after Ferrero retired just three games into their second-round match. "We're both from Valencia, so for me it's a dream because he is a great player and I was a fan of him when I was younger," Andujar said. "I have no pressure and nothing to lose, so we'll see tomorrow what happens."

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