Almagro or Simon – who is going to be Hamburg’s new tennis star?
At the end of a long tournament week, the final is going to be a true battle of power! Gilles Simon or Nicolas Almagro – who will capture the title at the bet-at-home Open 2011? The final will be a duel of extremes. A completely relaxed Frenchman will challenge one of the most extroverted clay court players on the Tour.
But who is Gilles Simon? For sure, he isn’t a cool rapper like his countryman Monfils or a kind of Muhammed Ali like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but a nice, gentle person who likes people to talk about him or likes talking about himself. His French reply on yesterday’s press conference was almost as long as his third set against Mikhail Youzhny – a truly relaxed guy, who has quietly worked his way up on the ATP World Tour and at the Rothenbaum tournament. Last year, the pressure of being the top seed in Hamburg was still too big – he lost first round against Daniel Brands. After a long break due to a knee injury the former No. 6 of the world was back on his way to the top. By working really persistently, he is back in the Top 20. Persistence was also the key to the semi-final match against Mikhail Youzhny. Also a lost first set didn’t make him lose his rhythm, but he patiently waited for his chance in order to attack coldly which also happened in the second set, when he wasn’t able to cash on his first break at 2-0. But then, from 3-3, he won seven games in a row and didn’t only equalize but preliminarily decided the third set. The 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory after more than two hours was also due to his fitness. Youzhny apparently suffered from the three-hour match against Marin Cilic. Furthermore, it was also a triumph for Simon to have beaten his “scary” opponent, for Youzhny had won all other matches they had played before. “At the beginning it was really difficult for me, but then I found my rhythm and things got close. From the middle of the second set he started doing more mistakes, I gained confidence and then it started to be fun,” “Gilou” happily said about his coup. So far, he had never really succeeded in Hamburg. “Until now, I never really played well here but I always wanted to win this tournament, and if I win tomorrow, I will be back in the Top 10,” Simon said and thus has a clear goal, i.e. to win the propeller trophy this afternoon. If Simon could have chosen an opponent for the final, for sure it would not have been Nicolas Almagro. But usually wishes are not really considered in tennis. Therefore, today Simon is only the slight underdog against a man, who has captured all his ten titles on clay so far. He hasn’t lost a set and demonstrated his power in three impressive performances. First, he eliminated the two Germans, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer, then it was Almagro’s countryman, Fernando Verdasco’s, turn. Almagro operated like a small terrier: never slacken the reins and “bite” when the opponent doesn’t expect it. At 5-4 in the first set, Almagro got down to business and accelerated the speed. His brutal backhand in combination with his tremendous foot work and flexibility made Verdasco despair. Almagro returned every single ball which forced Verdasco to do a lot of mistakes. Almagro succeeded in breaking Verdasco in order to win the set and immediately captured another break. By breaking him at 3-1, Almagro had more or less already secured the set since he was untouchable on his own serve. “I am just happy with my game and like playing on this surface.” Almagro thus sees making it to the final as a confirmation of his hard work and promises another passionate performance in the final. “It’s part of my game. I am emotional,” explains Almagro, who spent the evening before the final with his team and girlfriend in an Italian restaurant in order to recover his energy for the great, emotional final.
After the singles final, the final of the doubles competition will be played. Christopher Kas and Andreas Beck just missed making it to the final. The German duo lost to the Austrian team, Oliver Marach/Alexander Peya 6-7 and 4-6. It was the second time that they had lost the semis at Hamburg Rothenbaum. Marach/Peya will play Crantisek Cermak (Czech Republic) and Filip Polasek (Slovakia).
