How does it feel to be David Ferrer?  He is a most worthy top 5.  He pretty much beats everyone ranked below him.  He might struggle against a Berdych or Tsonga, but pretty much everyone below that, he does well.  Ferrer made Nadal’s life a lot easier by being his Davis Cup teammate.  Nadal is often guaranteed his two wins, but Ferrer is often up to the task of winning his two matches.  Argentina needed del Potro to beat Ferrer if they had half a chance of claiming the Davis Cup, but it came down to Ferrer beating del Potro to make the job that much easier for Nadal.

Despite being known as a bulldog, a guy who makes you work for every point, who rarely plays poorly, he just seems out of his league against the players ranked above him.  Oh sure, if they have an off-day, as Djokovic and Nadal have had, then he gets his wins, but if they’re playing well, Ferrer is a decided underdog.

Djokovic, for example, serves better than Ferrer, moves a bit better than Ferrer, hits more precisely than Ferrer, hit harder than Ferrer.  And yet, Ferrer, like Hewitt, made Djokovic work for his straight set victory.  Ferrer nearly got broken early on, but plugged away to get early holds before finally yielding his serve, and losing the first set, 6-4.  Ferrer even got ahead in the second and in the tiebreak, but was unable to hold off Djokovic.  When Ferrer failed to win the second set, Djokovic cruised to a 6-1 third set, but until then, he labored with a hamstring pull and difficulties breathing.  Despite these issues, Djokovic proclaimed himself fit and ready to play the semifinals.

And that means the top four have reached the final four again.  The top four met in the US Open in the semis as well as the French Open, and three of the top four reached the semis at last year’s Australian and Wimbledon.

Tonight, Roger Federer takes on his rival, Rafael Nadal in the semis.