Nicolas Almagro in great form, having an illustrious 2011 season – Part 2
After a lacklustre performance at the hard courts, Almagro moved back to the clay courts. The Spaniard did not have a great outing at his favourite surface as he was thrashed by Austrian Jurgen Melzer in straight sets 1-6, 4-6
in the third round at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.
The Murcia resident featured at his home country event, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell after the Monte Carlo event. He regained his form and outplayed compatriot Pablo Andujar, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and former world number
1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets to advance to the last four. However, the Spaniard was unable to reach his fourth final of the season as he was dismissed by Ferrer in straight sets in the semi-final.
Almagro broke into the top ten in the world rankings after the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. However, the new top ten player could not impress in his next assignment as he was crushed by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 1-6, 3-6 in
the opening round at the Mutua Madrid Open.
The Spaniard moved to Rome after the Madrid debacle. The six feet tall ousted Simone Bolelli of Italy and Sam Querrey in the first two rounds respectively. However, he could not qualify for the quarterfinals as he was knocked out
by the then world number 5, Swede Robin Soderling in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 in the round of 16.
Almagro came back to the winning ways as he rallied to beat Romanian Victor Hanescu in three sets 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 in the final at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur in Nice, France. On his way to the title match, the Spaniard beat Carlos
Berlocq and Pablo Andujar in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively. He upset Tomas Berdych, ranked 6th at that time, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals.
The Spaniard had a disappointing result at the second grand slam of the year. He was upset by a low ranked opponent, Polish Lukasz Kubot in five sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-7(5), 4-6 in the first round at the French Open.
As the clay court season ended, Almagro featured at the UNICEF Open as a warm up event for the third grand slam of the season. He failed to adapt to the grass courts as he was upset by unseeded Michael Berrer of Germany in three
sets 6-3, 6-7(5), 4-6 in the first round.
The Spaniard battled past his first two opponents at the Wimbledon Championships, beating Jarkko Nieminen and John Isner in four sets in the first and second round respectively. However, he failed to make a hat-trick of winning
four sets matches as he lost to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in four sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(3), 3-6 in the third round.
Almagro headed back to his favourite surface i.e. clay courts after a disappointing grass court season. The Spaniard was going strong and was hopeful to reach his fifth tour level final of the season. However, he was outclassed
by defending champion Ferrer in straight sets 1-6, 3-6 in the semi-finals at the SkiStar Swedish Open.
The Spaniard then headed to Germany, where he participated at the German Tennis Championships. He played exceptionally well to reach the title match without dropping a single set. Almagro, however, could not clinch his fourth title
of the season as he was overcome by Frenchman Gilles Simon in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in the final.
In his latest tournament, Almagro’s progress was halted in the semi-finals, when he was overpowered by compatriot Fernando Verdasco of Spain in three sets 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 3-6 at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open.
An able performer at the US Open Olympus Series, Almagro put in third round and quarterfinal appearances at the Cincinnati and Montreal Masters respectively before making his way to the season closing Grand Slam, the 2011 US Open.
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