David Ferrer edges Steve Johnson to win Erste Bank Open in Vienna
Tuesday 27 October 2015 11:40, UK
David Ferrer clinched his fifth ATP Tour title of the year and his 26th overall after rallying to defeat Steve Johnson 4-6 6-4 7-5 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday.
The top-seeded Spaniard, who also won in Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco, and Kuala Lumpur, lost the opening set before fighting back to seal a close win against the 47th-ranked American.
The victory has all but secured him a spot at next month's season-ending ATP World Tour finals in London - live on Sky Sports in November.
"I am glad for all the support in my second final in Vienna," said Ferrer, who was beaten for the title here by Andy Murray a year ago. "Am 33 years old. I hope I have two more years to go."
Johnson, who was playing in his maiden final, took a quick 3-0 lead. He lost serve at 4-2 but broke Ferrer again at 5-4 to close out the first set. Three straight breaks at the start gave Ferrer an early advantage in the second.
The final set went with serve until Johnson led 5-4 before Ferrer won the last three games.
The American said he looked back at "an amazing week" and acknowledged that Ferrer deserved the win as "he played fantastic all week."
"It was such a great event for me," Johnson said. "Hopefully this was not my last speech on the ATP tour."
A Redondo Beach, California, native, the 25-year-old Johnson is in his fourth season as a professional. He reached a career-high 37th in March last year.
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