ATP Stuttgart – Final Preview

Juan Carlo Ferrero vs. Pablo Andujar

Juan Carlos Ferrero competes in his 34th ATP final against Pablo Andujar for the Mercedes Cup title.

The experience of Ferrero eventually told during a tight semi-final encounter with Argentina's Federico Del Bonis. The qualifier has confounded expectations all week and initially looked on course for another shock upset as he led the former French Open champion by a set and a break before Ferrero fought back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

"The victory today was very important because I’m coming back from injury and winning four matches in a row, getting some rhythm and happiness and confidence," said Ferrero. "The key for me today was mentally staying positive all the time." "He was playing very powerfully with his forehand, and today with the sun the ball was unbelievably fast, making it very easy to make mistakes. Tennis is very tough and he hasn’t played many matches on the tour at the moment, so perhaps he played with a little bit too much respect."

Andujar won an equally tight battle 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against Lukasz Kubot to make his second final of the season. He had to survive a succession of break points in the final set but he survived to set up Sunday's clash with his boyhood hero.

"We're both from Valencia, so for me it's a dream because he is a great player and I was a fan of him when I was younger," Andujar said. "I have no pressure and nothing to lose, so we'll see tomorrow what happens."

In their only previous match back in 2007, Ferrero retired after just 3 games but look for experience to see him through to take the title tomorrow.