Nicolas Almagro completes a busy day at the Swiss Open in Gstaad by taking on Feliciano Lopez in the quarters.
Almagro has already played one match on Friday, finishing off Jarkko Nieminen 7-6, 6-3 in their rain delayed second round clash. It takes his clay-court record to 31-8 for the year and few players can boast those kind of stats unless your name is Rafael Nadal.
Amazingly, Lopez has never won a clay-court title on the main tour and his triumphs on any surface have come few and far between. Last year’s win in Johannesburg was his first since 2004.
He’s come close in Gstaad in the past, reaching the 2006 final and of course he arrives at the tournament this year after one of his best month’s for some time. It all started at Wimbledon where he blitzed Andy Roddick on the way to the quarters, then spearheaded Spain to a shock Davis Cup win over the United States before slightly randomly turning up at a challenger in Columbia which he won for the loss of just one set.
Lopez has not exactly stood out as a potential title winner this week. He was erratic against Michael Lammer in round one, needing three sets to see off the wildcard but improved to defeat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 6-4 on Friday.
Prediction: Almagro in three.
