Analysis for Ferrer-F.Lopez (Dubai)

Head-to-head record 2:3

Ferrer won a thriller match yesterday coming back from a set and break down against Olivier Rochus and we expect the similar match today. Feliciano Lopez was impressive against Berdych and it seems he finally got back the lost self-confidence. Lopez likes conditions here and is a former finalist. He is not a typical Spaniard as his play is based on power rather than movement. He also possesses s good head-to-head record against his countryman and even when his YTD record is poor, he now seems to be in a good shape and we think he will be competitive today. Ferrer is especially known for his fighting spirit and unwillingness to concede defeat. He is known as a particularly dangerous clay court player, though he has had several respectable results on hard courts as well. His main weapon is movement and precise baseline play with the minimum of unforced errors. He opened the season with a disappointing quarterfinal loss to Julian Benneteau at Auckland. Then he reached the 2nd week of the Australian Open falling to Djokovic in the quarterfinal. Last week he lost in the second round at Rotterdam to Misha Zverev of Germany. His latest hard-courts results weren´t impressive and we can´t see Ferrer going around so short in these conditions. Anything above 2.5 against Ferrer represents value for us.