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Ferrer survives five-setter with German journeyman
Spain's David Ferrer survived a marathon five-setter with German journeyman Denis Gremelmayr as he narrowly avoided a major upset in the Australian Open's first round on Monday.
Spain's David Ferrer survived a marathon five-setter with German journeyman Denis Gremelmayr as he narrowly avoided a major upset in the Australian Open's first round on Monday.
The 11th seed outlasted the 80th-ranked Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, converting his first match point after four hours on court at a sun-drenched Melbourne Park.
Ferrer was only broken three times but he dished up 68 unforced errors as Gremelmayr repeatedly forced his way back into the match.
The Spanish world number 12 got the winning break as Gremelmayr was serving to stay in the match 5-4 in the fifth, celebrating with relief as the ragged German forced the ball long.
Ferrer reached the quarter-finals last year before capturing two more titles and winning more than one million dollars in prize money for his second straight season.
The Spanish number two also made the 2007 US Open semis and has long lurked around the top 10.
Gremelmayr, 27, registered his first top 100 finish last year but is still yet to reach an ATP final, let alone win a title.
