This is one of the hardest phases for David Ferrer

This is one of the hardest phases that David Ferrer has ever gone through in his 15-year long career.

He has already pulled away from quite a few events including the Wimbledon Championships because of his elbow problem and he is supposed to be going to have to stay away from the tour for a little more time.

The Western & Southern Open is up next and although there have been no official words regarding the withdrawal of the Spaniard from that tournament as yet, the reports coming from the sources close to him indicate that he will have to miss out.

Earlier, when Ferrer had opted to take his name out of Montreal, his representative had stated that his recovery was not being as quick as expected, but, it was on the right lines and the player was going to be fine for the coming tournaments. However, that does not look like to be the case.

If Ferrer does not play in Cincinnati, that will surely put some serious doubts in the minds of his fans about the state of his injury.

There is not that much time left for the US Open to start. So, if his recovery continues to be ultra slow as has been suggested, the chances of him being absent from the second grand slam in a row would be bright.

Ferrer had shown tremendous touch starting the season as he had won three tournaments in the first couple of months.

He even overtook Rafael Nadal in the world rankings and became the top ranked singles player of Spain, but, the elbow injury hit him at a very wrong time.

Although he is still the no. 1 Spanish player, but, he would not hold onto that position for too long if he remains inactive.