At the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters he was seeded fifth, but was upset in his second-round match by Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. The following week, Ferrer reached the final at the 2012 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, after winning over Filip Krajinović, Albert Montañés, Feliciano López, and Milos Raonic. He then lost the final to defending champion Rafael Nadal. At the 2012 Muatua Madrid Open, held for the first time on blue clay, Ferrer defeated Radek Štěpánek and Nicolás Almagro on his way to the quarterfinals. He then faced world no. 3 and eventual champion Roger Federer and lost in straight sets. At the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Ferrer was seeded fifth and defeated Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Simon, and Richard Gasquet on his way to the semifinals. There he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal. At the 2012 French Open, Ferrer lost only 25 games defeating Lukáš Lacko, Benoît Paire, Mikhail Youzhny, and Marcel Granollers on his way to the quarterfinals. There he won over world no. 4 Andy Murray and reached his first Roland Garros semifinal. He then lost to defending champion Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1.