A little over a year ago, top-10 mainstay David Ferrer notched the biggest result of his career by making the final of the 2013 French Open, his first appearance in a Grand Slam title tilt. The vast bulk of the year was filled with highlights, such as reaching No. 3 in the world and appearing in a total of nine finals, although he won only two of them.
 
While 2013 was in most ways a dream season for the 32-year-old Spaniard, 2014 has been anything but. Ferrer failed to defend his runner-up finish at Roland Garros and has racked up more losses to players ranked outside the top 30 than victories over his peers within the top 10. Currently, he’s at No. 7 in the ATP World Tour standings, his lowest ranking in more than three years.

Does that mean it’s the beginning of the end? With younger players such as Wimbledon semifinalists Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic appearing to have entrenched themselves in the top 10 for now, while the “Big Four” have maintained their place in the game, it appears that it will be hard for Ferrer to make a significant climb.
 
However, if there’s one thing for sure it’s that the Spaniard can’t be counted out. While he doesn’t possess the physical gifts of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, or Andy Murray, Ferrer has stood ably beside them while pulling off a rare victory every now and then against them over the years—save for Federer, whom he’s 0-14 against.
 
What’s helped him thrive in the game has been a nearly unparalleled level of consistency when it comes to winning the matches he’s supposed to going by the standings, including against other members of the top 10 who’ve been ranked lower than him at the time. Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have all lost plenty of matches to Ferrer, even though it may seem like they’d be able to blast him off the court at first glance. Ferrer possesses some firepower of his own on both sides of the ball. He’s won tournaments not just on his favored clay but on all other surfaces, from grass-court events to quick indoor hard courts.
 
And his physical talents can’t be discounted, even though injury has taken a toll somewhat this year and contributed to his stumble in the rankings. It appears now, though, that Ferrer may be turning a corner with a strong performance at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg, Germany, this week. Provided he stays on the clay the next few weeks, he might build some momentum toward an upward move. Ferrer does have a lot of points to defend in the months ahead with a quarterfinal run at the U. S. Open and three final-round appearances from fall events last year.
 
Failure to do that could land him outside of the top 10 and perhaps start a further slide for a player on the north side of 30. This is a crucial time for Ferrer, but he’s been known to beat obstacles before. Overcoming them at this point is key to keeping his place among the game’s premier players.