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David Ferrer may be having a stellar 2007 season; reaching a career high ATP ranking of number 6 in the world, winning three ATP titles in Auckland, Bastad and Tokyo, reaching the semi-finals of the U.S. Open and the quarter-finals of five ATP Masters Series events, Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Cincinnati and Paris, but it took eight long years for him to find the warrior within.

The hard work he loathed as a teenager is exactly what has taken him to the top at 25. In ATP’s Deuce Magazine, Ferrer’s longtime coach Javier Piles explains, "…when he didn't want to work (at 17) I would lock him up in a dark room of two by two meters (6x6) and I would put a lock on it so he couldn't get out. It was the room where we would store the tennis balls. I would tell him that his working schedule was from 9 to 12 and that if he didn't want to work he would remain there punished. I would give him a piece of bread and a bottle of water through the bars of a small window. After a few minutes we would hear David asking other trainers from the club for some help to get out but we wouldn't pay any attention."

Once on the pro tour, Ferrer lacked self-confidence and felt his skill level was inferior, despite consistently defeating top players. Piles recalls, "He would tell me he was the worst Top 100 player in history, even if that week he had defeated players of the talent of David Nalbandian and Guillermo Coria."

Having always admired Lleyton Hewitt and feeling physically similar, Ferrer set out to emulate the former World number 1’s work-ethic and warrior attitude. The winning combination gave Ferrer an immense sense of confidence and courage. Competing in the prestigious Tennis Masters Cup for the first time this week, Ferrer’s hard work and dedication have made the ATP commissioned larger-than-life Terracotta Warrior sculpture of himself all the more rewarding.

His new attitude to those hotshot-spotlight-stealing Spaniards? If you can’t join them – beat them at their own game – literally.