Nicolas Almagro goes for his fourth title of 2011 against France's Gilles Simon.
It's been a successful year for Almagro so far who has already claimed titles in Costa Do Sauipe, Bueno Aires and Nice. Unfortunately for Almagro when he has stepped up to face the premier clay-courters of men's tennis at the Masters Series events and the French Open, he has been found wanting but in these events, he rules supreme.
He has yet to drop a set this week and crushed Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-1 in an unexpectedly one-sided contest. "I am very happy with my tennis today," Almagro said afterwards. "It was my best match in Hamburg. I am happy with my tennis and my mentality."
Simon reached his eleventh ATP final with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny. It has been an impressive week from Simon who rarely excels on clay but he has defeated some fine players including Gael Monfils.
Youzhny was regret letting his early momentum slip away. He was dictating play early on, making Simon do all the running but he missed a few balls at the start of set two and the match gradually slipped from his grasp.
Almagro and Simon are 1-1 on the head-to-head with Almagro winning their only previous encounter on clay way back in 2006.
Prediction: Almagro in two.
