!Nico by Pete Bodo
Is there nowhere we can turn these days, other than the WTA, to get ourselves shed of Spain and all things Iberian? It's not that we don't love Rafael Nadal, or enjoy Fernando Verdasco's preening. We appreciate Feliciano Lopez's old-school lefty game, driven as it is by that attack-gene that even the Spanish development program couldn't quite eradicate. And what's not to like about David Ferrer, who goes about his business like a humble farmhand, lacking only sombrero, hoe and rope belt to complete our image?
And we sure miss that Felix Mantilla, who launched the entire Spanish tennis-player obsession with cool hair when he dyed his hair platinum blonde but left the black roots, just like early-career Billy Idol! At one point there, I stumbled on a group of Spanish players eating the same table at Indian Wells and thought for a moment that I'd encountered a British synth band from Liverpool.
But really, this is getting a little ridiculous. One minute, the headlines celebrate the way Nadal has just sleepwalked through the pulverization of another ATP Top 10 stiff, 6-1, 6-1. The next, it's about how mad Verdasco is about not being offered a wild card into Barcelona. (Count me among those who suspect that with Nadal entered, Albert Costa and his fellow officials at Barcelona asked themselves, "Why waste good money on Verdasco, even if he is the defending champ, when we have Rafa? Fernando can't keep the ball in the court these days and he'll probably draw Milos Raonic in the first round anyway. . . .")
And speaking of Costa, how about the way he got all lawyered up and led the charge to ban that Premiere hard court from. . . wait! That's old, old news given how fast the cycle moves on the rain-plagued Spanish plain. Did you see where Nicolas Almagro is guaranteed a place in the Top 10 on the heels of his third-round win over Nikolay Davydenko at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, thereby becoming the 17th different Spaniard to make the Top 10 since the rankings were instituted in August of 1973?
More to the point for our immediate purposes, Almagro will become the third Spaniard in the Top 10, joining No. 1 Nadal and No. 6 Ferrer. I imagine this will automatically knock Mardy Fish out of the Top 10. It was nice while it lasted, eh, Mardy? But that's what you get for putting your feet up in Tampa while everyone else is getting the tar beaten out of him by Nadal.
Note to Roger and Novak: You can run, but you can't hide.
Before taking out Davydenko, Almagro played the winner at the recent Casablanca tournament, Pablo Andujar. He allowed Andujar exactly one game. Almagro can be like that; he's built like a Coke machine and gets a lot of stick on the ball. I always felt that if he were two or three inches taller he would do a lot more damage, and perhaps even give Nadal a run for his money. Imagine my surprise when I checked on his height and find he's listed at 6-feet even. We'll give him the benefit of doubt, but I'll reserve judgment until I'm in a position to stand near him. Anyway, the new honor was welcomed by Almagro, who made his big breakthrough at his home base, the oldest tennis club in Spain, the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. I've spent some time at that club; it's a pretty and elegant place.
"There’s no better place to achieve it than in my home club in front of my own people and my family and all the home support," Almagro told the press. "It’s a great reward for myself and the work of my whole team.”
Almagro next plays former French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero, whom Almagro beat at the same quarterfinal stage in Barcelona five long years ago.
And that brings us to a new piece of news: Ferrero, 31, is playing his first tournament since the U.S. Open of 2010. The former world no. 1. . .
See what I mean?