CAMELOT FANTASIES

Well, as it turns out in Rio, the player with perhaps the best chance of beating Rafael Nadal in his half, Martin Klizan, was forced to withdraw.  Conspiracy theories and Tio Toni aside, I'm sure most would wish Mr. Klizan a speedy recovery from his mysterious injury.

What now faces the Nadal camp? We now know he still appears to be contending with his injured back and other minor distractions...


Remaining in his half are 3 of the stalwart Spanish Armada (including himself).  But is Rafa fortunate to avoid the others for now as he next faces one of Portugal's finest?  The 24 year old #48 in the world, Portuguese #1 Joao Sousa, is obviously very bright showcasing his multilingual skills for the press in one of his 6 tongues, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, English, French, and Italian. But will he be able to bring his tennis skills to the fore well enough to challenge the Magificent Mallorcan Magician? 

One encouraging note for Sousa is that he does not appear to be intimidated by left handers.  He is over .500 against them on the main tour and was 11-5 at the challenger level. He is over 10 kilos lighter than the herculean hispanic hulk at the same height, so he should be able to take advantage of his clear quickness edge. He has beaten one of the 3 top 10 players he has faced, Spanish #2, David Ferrer (alias Little Beast, Vulture), on his way to his 1st ATP title in Kuala Lumpur so that has to be a big plus for the Portuguese. 


If Rafa somehow manages to survive the dangerous Sousa, he would then have to face one of the two experienced Spaniards in the semifinal, veteran Tommy Robredo, or Pablo Andujar. Andujar, if one remembers, did give Rafa a tough battle at Roland Garros, despite losing in straight sets.  And everyone knows how tough the elder Tommy Robredo is, especially in best of 5 sets, unless the opponent is Rafa.

In the other half, there are not many surprises.  One of the two Spaniards that started in that half exited early, Nico Almagro.  The other, world #4 David Ferrer, remains as the probable betting favorite to make it to the final.  It isn't a given though.  Hometown favorite Thomaz Bellucci has thrived on his home crowd support and gone through to the quarter finals for an engagement with Mr. Ferrer.  Bellucci crushed Ferrer in their last meeting in the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2012, 3 and 2, so he obviously has the class edge, belying Ferrer's seemingly debatable computer ranking.


In the other quarter, the erratic Ukrainian, Alexandr Dolgopolov, has somehow managed to find enough form to get through. Maybe he considers himself fortunate to stay on the tennis court rather than return to his native city for the time being. He is scheduled to play the mercurial genius, known as the Fabulous Fabio Fognini. One would think that Fognini might be tired from his early season efforts, but lately he seems to be able to manage his energy during matches, often disappearing for games or even a set, only to find his game just in time.  This match could be pure genius or pure folly, it's anyone's guess.

Umag 2012 - Dolgopolov d. Fognini 6-2, 6-4.    (Is that MTF's Mateya next to the umpire's chair?)
 

Are there any seats left in Rio for the thrilling encounters to come?

Respectfully,
masterclass