Scheduled for 4:30 PM local time, 7:30 PM GMT
Nicolas Almagro is one of the most offensive-minded claycourters around with an extremely potent 1st serve and huge firepower from both wings. What has been holding him back from breaking into the top 25 is his lack of patience and mental resolve, as well as his poor defensive game. But when he is in the zone he can beat almost anyone on a clay court. On his way to the final he has beaten some genuine claycourters like Massu, Pashanski, Fognini and Volandri who give very little away. This should be taken as a sign that he is hitting the ball great this week, because if a player like him is under-par against such consistent grinders then he will lose more often that now. But he has blitzed his way past his opponents with some extremely impressive stats in every round (averaging 73% points won on serve, 7 aces per match and has been routinely destroying his opponent’s 2nd serve throughout, particularly 18/19 points won off Fognini’s!). Oh and Nico is a career 35-25 against fellow Spaniards. Alright now I’m just showing off with these stats but basically Nico is on fire... he is serving consistently well, striking the ball sweetly, going for aggressive returns and making them.
Of course Carlos “senior citizen” Moya with all the experience he possesses and that ever-dangerous forehand can never be underestimated, but his performances have not exactly been stellar, he’s dropped a set in all of his 4 matches thus far and against mediocre opposition (Ventura, Patience, Hernandez and Lapentti) and was only two points from being 5-1 down in the final set against Hernandez. This does show he is taking this tournament at least a little seriously and fighting hard but if he struggles against such players, an in-form Almagro should see him off. Moya’s backhand is a weakness and Nico will look to attack whenever he can, and should get plenty of joy from any backhand-to-backhand rallies as he has one of the best attacking topspin single-handers around, possibly only second to Gasquet. Everything points towards Almagro taking his 3rd title tonight, perhaps it seems almost too obvious and I’ve been burnt many times before when putting my faith in him, but I really think he will deliver this time. Vamos Nico, let’s send this old chump back to the rest home!
Almagro to beat Moya @ 1.60 (10 units to win 6 units) WINResult: Almagro def. Moya 7-6(4) 3-6 7-5
4 comments:
Or maybe not!!
Will he be a choker if he loses? Or could it just be that Carlos Moya is still a very good player? The latter I think. He is in the final is he not? Never under estimate Moya. He is only 31 afterall and a former Grand Slam champion.
Ooh! Can we write rude words in here?
This isn't Guantanamo 606, no moderation here.
Thanks for the link, I love reading stuff like that.
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