Nicolas Almagro in great form, having an illustrious 2011 season - Part 1
Nicolas Almagro of Spain is enjoying good form and has performed quite well in this season so far. He has won an incredible 41 of the 56 matches he has played this year. The Spaniard attained his career high world ranking when
he reached the ninth spot in the South African Airways ATP Rankings on the 2nd of May 2011.
Almagro has won ATP World Tour-best 33 clay court matches this year. He has won three titles this season and finished runner-up in a couple of tournaments.
The Spaniard started the season at the Heineken Open in January. He defeated Victor Hanescu and Adrian Mannarino in the round of 16 and quarterfinal respectively to reach the last four. His progress was halted by David Nalbandian
as the Argentinean came out victorious in their semi-final clash, winning the match 6-4, 6-2.
Almagro entered the first grand slam of the season, the Australian Open, ranked 14th in the world. The Spaniard faced a tough challenge in his opening two matches but passed through it. He survived the scare in the third
set to beat Frenchman Stephane Robert in four sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 in the opening round. The Murcia native came back from two sets to one down to overcome Igor Andreev of Russia in five thrilling sets 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(10), 7-5 in the round of 64. After
winning two tough matches, the Spaniard convincingly defeated former world number 3 Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-3 in the third round. However, in the round of 16, Almagro was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight
sets 3-6, 4-6, 0-6.
The Spaniard rose to the 13th spot in the rankings after his impressive performance at the Australian Open. Almagro started the clay court season in style as he captured the Brasil Open, ousting Alexandr Dolgopolov of
Ukraine in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(3) in the title match. He beat Joao Souza of Brazil, Portuguese Rui Machado and Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina on the road to the final.
Almagro captured his second successive title as he overcame home favourite Chela in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the final at the Copa Claro in Buines Aires next week. The Spaniard did not face much difficulty in reaching the last
two as he won three of his first four matches in straight sets.
The right-handed continued his ascent as he outplayed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4 in the semi-final to reach the title match at the Abierto Mexaicano Telcel. However, Almagro failed to complete the hat-trick
of titles as he was beaten by compatriot David Ferrer in three sets 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 2-6 in the final.
Almagro then featured at the two hard court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in USA. The Spaniard could not make a winning transition to the American hard courts as he lost in the round of 32 at both BNP Paribas Open and Sony
Ericsson Open.
The series continues in the second part.
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