By Chris Oddo | Sunday, August 31, 2014

 

In hot, muggy conditions, Gilles Simon took out David Ferrer in four sets to reach the round of 16.

Photo Source: Getty .

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer was outplayed—and outworked—by roadrunner Gilles Simon on Sunday at the US Open, falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, to become the first top-ten seed to fall at this year’s US Open on the men’s side.

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After trading sets in the early going, Simon seized the momentum in the third set thanks to lots of patience and consistency with a little bit of sublime shotmaking thrown in.

The Frenchman's ability to weather to muggy New York conditions may have been what helped him the most in this battle.

“I never sweat like this in the last ten years,” said Simon. “So it was really difficult. To play David in this condition is really demanding physically. At one point I was really tired. I felt it would be difficult. But then I had more energy; I felt he was in trouble, also.”

In falling to an opponent that he had defeated in five of six previous matchups, Ferrer threw in an uncharacteristic 52 unforced errors and could only convert on three of eleven break point opportunities; none of the breaks came in the final two sets.

Ferrer, normally one of the most indefatigable players on tour, admitted that he wasn’t feeling as fresh as usual in the tough conditions.

“I was not good with my fitness,” he said. “Nothing else, no? He was better.”

Simon stroked 30 winners and converted on four of his last five break points in the final two sets to cruise into the US Open’s fourth round for the second time in his career.

He will face Croatian Marin Cilic in the round of 16.