All three of of the previous encounters between the two veterans had gone the three-set distance and their second-round showdown at the BNP Paribas Open went into overtime.
Ferrer came into this week with a shockingly poor 9-11 lifetime singles record at this tournament, six times losing his first match of the tournament. A spirited performance by Dodig almost extended that number to seven. Instead, Ferrer gutted out a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) second-round thriller that lasted two hours and 42 minutes. The eighth-ranked Spaniard steadied himself after failing to serve out the match at 6-5 in the third set and recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the decisive tiebreaker.
With a solid 6-3, 7-5 victory over Joao Sousa already under his belt in Indian Wells while his opponent was making a transition from clay to a hard court, Dodig raced to a fast start. The Croat gave back an early break but seized a second scalp of Ferrer’s serve before closing out the opening frame of play at 5-4.
A routine second set for Ferrer led to a dramatic third. Both men produced their best tennis as 10 consecutive holds resulted in a 5-5 deadlock, at which point they traded service breaks. In the ‘breaker, Dodig twice gave back mini-break advantages–although it was no fault of his own. Ferrer came up with a perfect backhand return at 1-3 and crushed a lunging forehand return at 3-5. Dodig, who had already saved two match points a game earlier, fought off another one at 5-6. At long last, a netted drop-shot by the world No. 96 put an end to the drama.
At least one fellow professional was enthralled by the proceedings.
“Watching @DavidFerrer87 vs @DodigTennis on @TennisTV. Phenomenal match! #tennis #BNPO15″ is what Sergiy Stahovsky posted on Twitter.
Then shortly thereafter from Stakhovsky: “Are you watching this??? Incredible!! #tennis #BNPO15″.
Dodig gets a standing ovation as he exits Court 3:
Isn’r Borna Coric the guy who said on his best he plays like Novak and on his worst he plays like Murry?
Well, Borna, Murray wins against Tomic ALL THE TIME. Anyone who loses to Tomic is a chump and has no business comparing himself to greats like Novak and Murray.
Ricky,
Nice recap of this match.
I was so happy when the tennis channel switched from Novak’s boring beat down of Baggy to the match with Ferrer and Dodig. Now that was worth watching!
Ferrer broke to have the chance to serve for the match in the third set, but Dodig came up with some great shots to get the break and take it to a tb. The fans really enjoyed it as these two guys slugged it out. I thought Dodig might pull it off when he went up 5-3 in the tb. But Ferrer hung tough and got the win.
It was enjoyable to watch two guys giving their all. The crowd was really into it, too.