Although he lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Valencia Open, David Ferrer moved into the final position to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in London. Third-ranked Rafael Nadal will have surgery next week and will miss the eight-player, season-ending event, which pushed Ferrer into the top eight. The Spaniard said that his friend pulling out is, for him, of “obvious benefit.”
Ferrer is currently holding 3,865 points in eighth position, but is only 25 points in front of Milos Raonic. Raonic reached the quarterfinals of Basel, where he lost to David Goffin. All of the top players in contention will play in the Paris Masters this week.
Ferrer could play No. 15 Gilles Simon in the third round, while Raonic could play No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut.