Daniel Gimeno-Traver goes for the Copa Sevilla on Saturday against compatriot Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.
Gimeno-Traver tends to save his best tennis for home soil. The 26 year old qualified for the Madrid Masters in May before taking out Richard Gasquet and Jurgen Melzer en route to the third round. An excellent shot-maker on his day, he can press the self-destruct button particularly off his notoriously inconsistent single-handed backhand but he's been doing everything right over the past fortnight, reaching the semis in San Sebastian and then the final here without dropping a set.
He produced one of his best matches of the year at challenger level in Friday's semi-finals, outplaying second seed Albert Ramos 7-5, 6-2.
Ramirez-Hidalgo has been around this level for over a decade now but he's still as tough a competitor as ever. He progressed to the final when top seed Pere Riba called it quits, trailing 3-0 in the final set of their semi-final after a couple of gruelling sets.
Gimeno-Traver leads the head-to-head 3-2 and crucially he's won their past three matches, beating Ramirez-Hidalgo 7-5, 6-2 during that fine run in Madrid.
