Rafael Nadal after wining his match in French Open

Nicolas Almagro made a strong effort against the second seeded and heavily favored four time French Open champion Rafa Nadal. In a match between two strong clay court players, only three service breaks occurred. Nadal broke twice and Almagro once in the 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4 two hour thirty minute match.

On the strength of the win, Rafael Nadal will advance to the semifinals. Nadal earned his 20th consecutive clay court win and rode his strongest service performance of the tournament to pave the way to his fourth straight clay court championship of the season.

His improved serve has marked Nadal’s 2010 resurgence. If the Spaniard wins the championship, he will take over the top ranking from Roger Federer, a quarterfinal casualty at the hands of Robin Soderling. Nadal now has a 36-4 record this season and has won 36 of 37 matches against his fellow Spaniards.

The 19th seeded Almagro managed a break in the first game of the first set and played with great passion throughout the quarterfinal contest. But, Nadal evened the match with a break in the fifth game. Almagro continued to play aggressively with big forehands and strong serves, but Nadal had all the answers.

In both the first and second set tiebreakers, Nadal captured early breaks and rode the momentum to convincing wins. Trailing Nadal is never a good thing. As one of the game’s two best closers, Nadal is a strong frontrunner.

Almagro played a strong third set but Nadal could see the finish line. At 4-4, Rafa won the first two points and would not let the underdog up for air. The heavy favorite then closed out the match with one more strong service game.

Melzer Shocks Djokovic

Melzer Shocks Djokovic

29-year old German Jurgen Melzer made his improbable championship run even more improbable by dropping the first two sets against number three seed Novak Djokovic before mounting a three set rally. Djokovic has never lost a match in which he won the first two sets and Melzer has never won a match in which he lost the first two sets.

The 2-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4 match took four hours and 15 minutes and was filled with emotional swings that left both players exhausted. In the final game Melzer caught a big break when the chair umpire overruled a linesman’s call of a Djokovic forehand that was on the line. The call evened the game at 15/15 and was pivotal in the match.

Djokovic converted 4 of 8 break points while Melzer was only able to convert 4 of a remarkable 24 opportunities. Djokovic had an uncharacteristically high 10 double faults compared to just five for Melzer.

The 22nd seeded Melzer was aggressive and creative in the match. He continually forced Djokovic in to the net with drop shots and then pushed him back with excellent lobs or cross court drives.

Of late, the third seeded Djokovic has developed a habit of losing sets in matches he had a decided edge. After winning the first two sets 6-2, 6-2, Novak continued the dangerous habit.

This time, the loss of focus came back to haunt him. For the German, the win marks the first time he has reached the semifinals in a Grand Slam. Melzer will have a well-deserved day off before he must face the heavily favored Nadal. The two have played twice with Rafa claiming both victories.

Melzer can take heart in the fact that upsets have marked the 2010 French Open. Robin Soderling began an upset trend yesterday and it continued today with Samantha Stosur and Melzer recording big wins.

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