Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco clash again in the semi-finals of the Swiss Open in Gstaad today.
It's the Almagro and Verdasco show for the second time in a week. It happened exactly seven days ago in Hamburg and Verdasco did not fare too well, he got crushed as Almagro dropped just five games to make the final.
All the evidence this week suggests he may suffer a similar fate today. Almagro had not completed a match until Friday but he oozed confidence to prevail against Jarkko Nieminen and then defeat the in-form Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 7-5. Can he reach a sixth clay-court final of the year ? Do not bet against him.
To his credit, Verdasco has staged a mini revival over the past few weeks, toughing out a number of three setters and he did the same again to defeat experienced Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 in Friday's quarters.
However he's not playing well enough at the moment to defeat Almagro who looks well on course to defend his title from last year. Look for Almagro to win this in straight sets again.
