almagro climbs his way into the top 10

Nicolas Almagro came up short in the all-Spanish semifinal at the 2011 Barcelona Open, losing to David Ferrer 3-6, 4-6. It puts an end to another great run for Nico and puts Ferrer in his second final against Rafa Nadal in as many weeks. (They two duked it out for the Monte Carlo title, with Nadal prevailing.) But Almagro shouldn’t feel too bad: he’ll enter the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career when the rankings are released on Monday.

Stepping it up: Reebok‘s playing with prints again after keeping with solid polos to start out Nico’s year. Now there are white and teal colorways of the current crew done up with pseudo-trapezoidy/staircase-esque patterns. Not available stateside, but definitely available in brick-and-mortar stores en España. More info here: Reebok Competition Tech Top.

Draw: Read up on all the happenings of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell at the tourney’s here.

(image via Getty Images)

k-swiss on monfils: sleeveless and in reverse

Gael Monfils became the latest addition to the roster of ATPers collaterally damaged by Rafa‘s domination on clay. The break-dancing Frenchman lost his quarterfinal match at the Barcelona Open to the World No. 1 — falling 6-2, 6-2 in 75 minutes. We’re assuming that Nadal’ll have no problem beating Ivan Dodig in the semis, but keep in mind that the Croat did upset seeds Soderling and Raonic before taking out Feli Lopez 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the quarters. The other semi will feature Ferrer vs. Almagro.

Leave it to the pros: Gael’s the only one in the K-Swiss camp wearing the sleeveless version (and in reversed colorways) of the spring ’11 Fading Stripe series, which feature a print of morphing dots across the chest of tees and polos. We’ve seen Sam Querrey wear the black/white version and the blue and purple (our fave) on Mardy Fish. Buy: K-Swiss at Tennis Express.

(image via Getty Images)

nishikori watches what he wears

Of course! The 2011 switch from adidas to the whites and reds of Uniqlo meant that Kei Nishikori needed to re-accessorize; the blue candy just wasn’t going to cut it. Instead, he’s been wearing an orange/red Baby-G.

The top Japanese ATPer got bounced out of the third round by Feli Lopez this week’s Barcelona Open. Lopez plays Dodig in the quarters and is in the same half as Rafa. (Draw: Barcelona Open singles [pdf])

Buy: Casio Baby-G BG 2000-4, $79, casio.com.

(image via Getty Images)

tattoo watch: simone vagnozzi

Consolation prize: As sad as it is that Pico peaced out early at this week’s Barcelona Open, TSF found the silver lining: an inner-arm tat on Italian Simone Vagnozzi, who upset 16th seed Monaco 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. Vagnozzi fell in the subsequent round to Juan Carlos Ferrero. (Archives: TSF Tattoo Watch)

If anyone out there has a better pic, we’d love to see it!

Read up: Vagnozzi’s page on the ATP site.

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davydenko lulls us to sleep in barcelona

Yep, we’re pretty much just as bored about Nikolay Davydenko as he looks in that picture. Powder couldn’t capitalize on that Qatar final appearance to start of the year. He’s languished since then, stringing no more than two victories back-to-back in eight consecutive tourneys. At this week’s Barcelona Open, Powder got bounced by Nicolas Almagro in the third round; Nico will play fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarters. Humpty Dumpty: This is JCF’s first tourney since undergoing left knee and right wrist surgeries in October 2010. It’s good to have him back on the tour! (Draw: Barcelona Men’s Singles)

Buy: This red polo’s not for sale on the Dunlop site, but you can check out the rest of the goods here.

(image via Getty Images)

david ferrer springs back

David Ferrer has had a great year so far, being in an elite group of four guys who’ve won more than one singles title in 2011 — Nole has four, Soderling has three, and Ferrer and Almagro each have two.

After coming so close to winning Monte Carlo, Ferrer’s vying for his second clay title of the year in Barcelona. He opened with a quick match against Carlos Berlocq and will face Hanescu in the third round. He could meet Melzer in the quarters after that. Draw: See how all the guys are doing at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Lotto: After playing with yellow and color blocking to start out the year, Lotto’s moved on to showcasing the chest by adding lines and patterns to polos and crews. They used orange (“Fanta”) during Ferrer’s swing through Indian Wells and Miami, and have gone back to teal for his clay run. Buy: Shirts available at Pro-Direct Tennis.

(images via Getty Images)

trophy watch: roger retreats to routine while rafa rolls on with record

The Queen’s Cup

Rafael Nadal continues to make his case for winning this year’s Wimbledon title with a 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic at The Artois Championships in London. Rafa, who took home $133,000, is the first Spaniard to win a grass court title in 35 years (bookending Andres Gimeno‘s 1972 Eastbourne feat).

Does Rafa already have a toothpaste endorsement deal? It could be very lucrative…

Meanwhile, Roger Federer scurried back to the teat of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he tried to erase last week’s French Open drubbing with his fifth title at this smaller grass event. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4. He didn’t drop a set in five matches, helping extend his record to 25-0 at this event (and to 59 straight wins on grass dating back to 2002).

Looking forward: Roger will seek his sixth straight Wimbledon title this coming week.

Top seed Nikolay Davydenko chips away some more of that (unfounded) match-fixing notoriety with another title, this time at the Orange Prokom Open in Warsaw. He has racked up three titles so far in 2008, tying Nole and trailing only Rafa’s five. Kolya beat second seed Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-3. Great track jacket from Airness!

Kateryna Bondarenko switched to a more even K-Swiss outfit for the DFS Classic final. Kateryna overcame Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (4).

In this week’s only clay contest, Maria Kirilenko made quick work of Maria Martinez Sanchez (6-0, 6-2) in the Barcelona Open. Maria turned this around with a first-round exit at Eastbourne this week.

(photos by Getty Images)