by Richard Lucas
Photo Credit Mark Howard

(April 23, 2011)
While it's never a surprise to see world number 1, Rafael Nadal, in the finals of any tournament played on a clay court, the other side of the draw saw what looked to be a much more compelling semifinal match up between red hot David Ferrer and number 11, Nicolas Almagro. With two clay court titles this year already under the belt of Almagro this year, the promise of a true clay court battle loomed over the semifinal matchup.

In the all-Spanish matchup, the combination of Almagro's less than stellar serving, only 52% first serves, combined with the pressure of Ferrer's return proved to be too much. Behind three breaks of serve out of twelve attempts, while saving three of four on his own serve, Ferrer was able to moved into his second straight final in a surprisingly easy 6-3, 6-4 victory. The win moves his record to 13-1 on clay this year, while Almagro drops to 18-3 for the season, with two of his three losses coming to Spanish compatriot, David Ferrer.

On the other side of the draw, Rafael Nadal was matched up against Croatian Ivan Dodig, who advanced to the semifinals with wins against Robin Soderling, Milos Raonic, and Feliciano Lopez. Dodig says that clay is his favorite surface, but did not have any answers to counter the world number one. Serving at only 48% put immediate pressure on his serve, as Nadal was able to break 6 times while dropping serve twice for a quick 6-3, 6-2 win over the world number 56.

The match up between David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal will be the second in two weeks, and 17th overall, with Nadal holding a 12-4 advantage, including 9-1 on clay. Ferrer's only victory on clay over Nadal was back in 2004. This will be the third time the two face each other in the Barcelona finals (2008, 2009), and fourth time overall.