Little beast Ferrer just keeps going

At this Open,though,Ferrer is not the favourite.

As he picked apart Richard Gasquet on Tuesday,David Ferrer stopped only for the rain. For the rest of the afternoon,he moved as if someone had lit a fire under his feet.

This was typical Ferrer,tenniss version of a tornado,forever whirling and bouncing,moving and retrieving,the human equivalent of a ball machine. Even the rain that slowed him did so only temporarily,a minor nuisance on his path to the United States Open quarterfinals.

On match point,Ferrer went back and forth again like a pinball,until Gasquet sailed a backhand long. Ferrer pumped his fist and screamed,the 7-5,7-6 2,6-4 win complete. In the big moments,Im doing what I need to do, he said. Im very strong mentally.

In a sport defined by four superstars,he ranks fifth. At 5 feet 9 inches,he is the shortest player in the top 10. Often regarded as the fittest player on the ATP Tour,he has a game that is a clinic in defensive wizardry,producing 16 career singles titles,mostly in smaller tournaments.

Still,Ferrer has ascended to the level just below mens tenniss upper echelon in spite of his obvious,well,shortcomings. He has rarely lost to players with lower rankings and evident weaknesses. He has won consistently,on all surfaces,in the power era despite his lack of power.

Little beast,they call him.

Hes a bantamweight that chops down heavyweights, said Justin Gimelstob,the Tennis Channel analyst. Hes a machine. Theres no break. Theres no reprieve. You cant shake him.

Gasquet could sympathise on Tuesday. He entered the match with a 1-12 record in the fourth round of Grand Slam events and a 1-7 mark against Ferrer. He has won five ATP titles in 2012,second only to Roger Federer,the world No.1. Ferrer reached the semifinals of the French Open this year and made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

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At this Open,though,Ferrer is not the favourite. If he reaches the semifinals,Novak Djokovic is likely to be waiting. Still,for the fittest player on tour,for perhaps the best player many fans have never heard of,this marks another opportunity for Ferrer to announce himself on an international stage.

I wish the rest of the world understood, Gimelstob said. But I dont think he cares. He cares about getting better,about the next game,the next point. Ferrer said,Thats my job.GREG BISHOP