#4. David Ferrer
The Spaniard first came into the limelight in 2003 when he beat Andre Agassi in the opening round of the Rome Masters and rose to fame by the end of 2007 when he beat the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the round-robin of the World Tour Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup) and went on to reach the final of the tournament which helped him enter the Top 5 of the ATP rankings.
However, during a period between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2010, Ferrer had a dip in form but then came back strongly and from 2011-2015, he put in some thrilling performances that included reaching his first Grand Slam final at the 2013 French Open and reaching a career-best ranking of World No.3.However, Ferrer has had a lot of struggles with his form this year. After reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, Ferrer had a disastrous second round exit at the Miami Open which was followed by consecutive third round exits at Madrid and Rome.
After exiting the French Open in the fourth round, Ferrer had a disastrous grass-court season which was followed by a disappointing second round exit at the Rio Olympics. Ferrer’s woes continued as he lost in the opening round of the Cincinnati Masters before exiting the US Open in the third round.
Following the US Open, he has had mostly below-par performances which led him fall down to 21st in the rankings, his lowest ranking since July 2009. An occupational burnout may be the reason of Ferrer’s lack of form recently. Age may also be a factor as he’s already 34.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here