David Ferrer at times is the forgotten tennis star of Spain. Such is life when Rafael Nadal is your countryman.
Friday, Ferrer took a step to establish himself as the Spanish star of the present. His victory over hard-serving Ivo Karlovic at the Qatar Open was a demonstration of resilience and quality.
While Nadal continues to struggles to come back from injuries from late last year, Ferrer now has a chance to shine in Saturday's championship match. Opponent Tomas Berdych is equally competent and capable of stealing Ferrer's thunder.
Also Friday, Nadal was a winner in doubles, playing with Argentina's Juan Monaco.
For Ferrer, a strong showing in preparation for the Australian Open is no accident. He cited an offseason's had work for setting him up to succeed.
"I had one month of work with my new coach (Francisco Fogues), and I think we improved some details in my tennis, like the slice and my serve," Ferrer told the ATP's website.
"Now I want to rest and to have a massage with my physio and be ready for tomorrow."
Don't we all.
Now No. 10 in the world, Ferrer found himself in a tussle with Karlovic, who stands a shade under 7 feet tall and has the hardest serve in men's tennis. His first serve was in play 92 percent of the time. Karlovic also was able to turn Ferrer's serves back for points.
All three sets Friday went to tiebreaker, so Ferrer deserves his therapy time. The final: 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4). The key: Ferrer's return game was strong, even against the bombs Karlovic dropped.
“It’s like a penalty to receive serve against him,” Ferrer said. “His serve is unbelievable, and so I know that one or two mistakes on my own serve, and I was beaten.
“I didn’t have any chance in the first set. But the match was so close and I enjoy these kind of matches. It all depended on certain points.”
Karlovic leaves the tournament a round after knocking out world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Nadal was nailed in the first round. Despite a match in his he was noticeably rusty, Nadal is confident he is prepared for play in Melbourne, which begins Jan. 19.
"Little things didn't quite work out for me," he said Wednesday. "This is the third comeback of my career after injury, so we will see how it goes."
Next for Nadal: a tune-up tournament in Sidney, Australia.