David Ferrer © SA Tennis Open

Frenchman Gael Monfils will join Ferrer at the Montecasino courts.

When Ferrer chose to play in this year’s tournament at the same venue, many people suspected that the altitude would find him out. However, the intrepid Spaniard proved them all wrong and won through to the semifinals of the tournament.

His match against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy lasted for more than two-and-a-half hours and was one of the most thrilling of the tournament.

Ferrer looked in total control after winning the opening set 6-1, but the next two sets both came down to tie-breakers which were won by the Frenchman 11-7 and 7-4 respectively.

“It is an honour for us to have David Ferrer back in South Africa for the SA Open. His never-say-die attitude makes him one of the most exciting players on the ATP World Tour and he is sure to draw many fans to Montecasino,” said Tournament Director Ian Smith.

The Spaniard has won seven career titles and reached the finals of Barcelona and Dubai.

He is regarded by opponents to be one of the fittest players on the tour and Men’s Health Spain devoted a whole feature to his training regimen.

"Your physical condition determines completely the performance. And it works the same way for a professional as for an amateur that plays only on Sundays," said Ferrer.

His speed and agility on a tennis court is legendary and he is not the person the top guys want to face if they are not at their best.

Ferrer advanced to the semifinals or better in five of his first 16 tournaments this year.

In Spain’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Serbia, Ferrer helped his country to a 4-1 victory with wins over world No 3 Novak Djokovic in the opener and Viktor Troicki in dead rubber to close the tie.

He avenged his Johannesburg loss to Chardy at Indian Wells but fell to Andy Roddick in three sets.

Ferrer reached the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami with back-to-back three-set wins over John Isner and No 17 seed Marin Cilic before losing to No. 7 ranked Juan Martin del Potro.

It took countryman Rafael Nadal to stop him in Barcelona in the final and then went on to reach the third round at Roland Garros, losing to eventual finalist Robin Soderling in four sets.

He was forced to retire with a knee injury just seven games into his second-round clash with Nadal on hard courts at Montreal.

At the Cincinnati Masters he lost in the third round to Roger Federer in three sets but later this year won both his matches in the Davis Cup final against Israel.

Ferrer's signing will be welcomed by female sporting fans as David Ferrer was voted one of the worlds sexiest sportsman in a recent survey.

Socialite Edith Venter of Edith Venter Promotions, organiser of the tournament's Charity Ladies Day, welcomed the news of Ferrer's entry.

“David is fabulous; he’s gorgeous and definitely eye candy for our local audiences. David will surely be a bigger and better hit than last year as fans will know what to expect,” said Venter.

With SA Tennis Open and The BLD Group

	Remember to go to www.supersport.com on your Mobile phone and keep in touch with the latest scores wherever you are.