Ferrer opened 2008 with a quarterfinal loss to unseeded Julien Benneteau of France in Auckland, where Ferrer was top seed. He reached the second week of the Australian Open, however, as the fifth seed, without dropping a set in the first three rounds. He then went on to defeat 22nd seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in four sets in the fourth round, before falling to third seed and eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. On 25 February, Ferrer became world no. 4, despite losing in the second round in Rotterdam.