TENNIS in DEPTH.

Nicolas Almagro continued to light up the post-Wimbledon clay-court swing as he won his second trophy in three weeks with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Richard Gasquet Sunday in the final of the Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad.

As champion of the ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tennis tournament, Almagro received 250 South African Airways 2010 ATP Ranking points and €68,450, while Gasquet earned 150 points and €35,980 in prize money.

Almagro’s victory in Gstaad follows hot on the heels of his triumph in Bastad two weeks ago, when he snapped a 17-month title drought with victory over home favourite Robin Soderling in the final. The Spaniard improved to a 7-2 mark in ATP World Tour finals, each one coming on clay. It is the second time he has won two ATP World Tour titles in the same year, having also done so in 2008 at Acapulco and Costa do Sauipe during the Latin American “Golden Swing”.

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Nicolas Almagro upset home favourite and defending champion Robin Soderling in three sets to win the Swedish Open on clay in Bastad.

Fourth seed Almagro came through 7-5 3-6 6-2 to secure the sixth title of his career and his first of 2010.

The Spaniard recovered from dropping the second set to break twice in a row on his way to wrapping up the decider after one hour 57 minutes.

Soderling was playing his fourth successive three-set match of the week.

Almagro said the win was a “big moment” for him.

“Robin is a great player. Here in Bastad he’s like a hero,” Almagro said, adding he had prepared for the match by trying to imagine how Soderling would play.

“I tried to be him. I was thinking about the match all night and this morning, and finally I can beat him and I’m very happy,” he said.

The 24-year-old Almagro, a clay-court specialist, also beat Soderling when the pair last met, winning in straight sets in Madrid in May.

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Robin Soderling survived an early scare before booking his place in the final of the SkiStar Swedish Open to the delight of his home fans.

Soderling came back from a set down to defeat David Ferrer 4-6 6-3 6-2 and reach his fourth final of the year.

The Swede looked at odds in the first set and was broken in the third game but slowly came back into the match.

Ferrer managed to save two break points in the sixth game of the second set but double-faulted two games later to hand Soderling the advantage.

Soderling’s superiority told in the final set as he cruised to victory, at one point holding a 5-1 lead over the third-seeded Spaniard.

“I felt I was playing better, and the more the match went on, the better I felt. It’s great to be in the final again,” said Soderling.

The 25-year-old will meet Nicolas Almagro in the final after the fourth seed crushed double former champion Tommy Robredo in an all-Spanish semi-final.

Almagro took little over an hour to dispose of the fifth seed, winning 6-1 6-3 with an impressive performance that included a run of nine straight games.

“I know the crowd will be all for Soderling. Maybe I should try to find some people and convince them to cheer for me,” said Almagro, who trails his opponent 3-2 in their head-to-head record but was the victor the last time the pair met, in May.

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Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to reclaiming his French Open title with a 6-2 7-5 6-4 win over rising Brazilian star Thomaz Bellucci.

Bellucci, 22, broke the world number two’s serve four times but could not find the consistency to mount a serious challenge against the Spaniard.

Nadal will face compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who defeated another Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, in the last eight.

Novak Djokovic earlier booked a quarter-final against Jurgen Melzer.

Djokovic, the third seed, overcame a sloppy second set to beat unseeded American Robby Ginepri 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2 while Melzer ended the run of Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili with a 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-1 6-4 win.

Almagro saw off a jaded Verdasco 6-1 4-6 6-1 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes in the last men’s match of the day.

In beating Bellucci, Nadal went one step further at Roland Garros than he managed last year when he was stunned by Robin Soderling in the last 16, his first ever defeat in five visits.

Austria’s Jurgen Melzer booked his place in the French Open quarter-finals after ending the remarkable run of Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili.

The 22nd seed claimed a hard-fought 7-6 (8/6) 4-6 6-1 6-4 victory on Suzanne Lenglen Court and will next face Novak Djokovic.

World number 114 Gabashvili had not dropped a set en route to the last 16 and completed an embarrassingly one-sided third-round win over Andy Roddick on Saturday.

But despite producing another flurry of winners, he made almost as many unforced errors as the experienced Melzer held sway.

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Roger Federer came from a set down to beat Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis 3-6 6-1 6-4 and reach the last four of the Madrid Open.

His semi-final opponent will be David Ferrer who downed Andy Murray for the second time in the past 4 weeks 7-5, 6-3. The match ended at 1am and through poor tournament scheduling Ferrer will have to be back on court to play Federer later today(Saturday).

Gulbis beat Federer last month and when he went broke the Swiss at the first chance then forced him to save three set points, a repeat looked possible.

But after being broken again at the start of the second set, Federer took charge and powered on to victory.

“I was always a bit worried. I got off to a slow start in the first set and paid the price. In the second I recovered and won six games in a row and got on a tear,” he said.

“I’m very happy with my performance and very glad to be in the the semis. I didn’t have much rhythm in the first set – but I recovered well. I served well and hit the ball very cleanly. I thought it was a good performance even after my poor start.”

Earlier, Rafael Nadal secured his place in the last four with a straightforward 6-1 6-3 win over Gael Monfils.

The world number three, who will return to two if he reaches the final, breezed through the first set with breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games.

Monfils put up more resistance in an erratic second set but his wayward display was summed up by a double fault which sealed Nadal’s victory.

“I played my game as well as I could but I was up against the best clay player on the planet and I lost so what can you do,” said Monfils afterwards.

The Spaniard, who is seeking a third straight Masters title after wins in Monte Carlo and Rome, faces compatriot Nicolas Almagro in the semi-finals.

The unseeded 24-year-old was on scintillating form in a 6-3 6-1 win over Austrian Juergen Melzer, converting four out of seven break points and not facing a single one on his own serve as he reached his first Masters Series semi.

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Thomaz Bellucci reached the second round of the Barcelona Open following a straight-sets victory over Jarkko Nieminen.

The Brazilian edged a tight encounter 6-4 6-4 at the Real Club de Tenis.

The tournament had earlier been hit by the withdrawal of defending champion Rafael Nadal, the world number three.

Back on court, Nicolas Almagro eased through against fellow Spaniard Santiago Ventura, taking only an hour to secure a 6-1 6-2 victory.

Almagro, the 15th seed, was completely dominant, firing 10 aces en route to victory.

Juan Ignacio Chela also progressed with a 6-1 6-4 win over Filip Krajinovic.

Richard Gasquet got the better of Russian Igor Andreev in a tight match lasting one hour 42 minutes.

The former Wimbledon semi-finalist edged a first-set tie break 7-5 before securing a vital break in the second to claim a 7-6 6-4 victory.

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Switzerland is missing a huge opportunity to eliminate the defending Davis Cup champioms from the 2010 competition. Injuries have sidelined three of Spain’s top players, and even though they have considerable depth to pick from, the Swiss team with Federer would be the odds on favourite. But Roger has said he will not be available!

Nicolas Almagro will replace the injured Juan Carlos Ferrero for Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Switzerland on March 5-7.

Ferrero hurt his knee during the final of the Mexico Open in Acapulco, which he lost to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

Amagro was informed he was in the squad by Spanish team captain Albert Costa on Sunday, the Spanish tennis federation said.

A knee injury also means Rafael Nadal is ruled out of the best-of-five series, as is Switzerland’s Roger Federer who had announced he would not take part in the Davis Cup.

Almagro, Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers will represent Spain at the 11,000-capacity bullring in the northern city of Logrono.

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Rafael Nadal showed all his renowned fighting qualities(and he was lucky) to beat Nicolas Almagro in an epic contest at the Paris Masters on Wednesday. Nadal is far from the player he was at this time last year. Except for the name he could easily be mistaken for any of a number of top 20 players. He has lost his zip, his power, his movement and his concentration. Unless he undergoes a miraculous metamorphis in the very near future it is doubtful whether he will ever win another Grand Slam event. Just compare the physical difference in the two pictures….this is not the same Rafa we came to admire!

Maybe he’s like Sampson? When his hair was cut he lost all his strength!

The Australian Open champion saved five match points in the second set en route to a 3-6 7-6 (7/2) 7-5 victory in three hours and 14 minutes.

Nadal refused to bend towards the end of the second set – saving the last three match points in a row at 5-6 0-40 – before levelling the match in the ensuing tie-break.

Still, it seemed Almagro was set for victory when he forged a 5-3 lead in the decider and served for a place in the last 16.

However, with cramp taking hold of his legs, Almagro could not finish off Nadal and the former Wimbledon champ reeled off the last four games to claim a hard-fought triumph.

Robredo, seeded 14, saw off Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4.

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