Fernando lost today to compatriot Nicolas Almagro 1-6, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6. Fernando in his post-match presser, said that he “played a pretty bad match. “I think he (Almagro) is playing at a high level, so that’s difference in those two sets. I think I won the second set almost by luck. I could not believe how that I could win a set playing so badly.”

Fernando also praised Almagro and said that he had the potential to create an upset if he played his very best game. “What happens is that Rafa, mentally, physically, from experience, is superior to him. But you can shock Rafa enough to damage him, if you play well.”

Despite Fernando’s loss, he managed to defend his points from last year by reaching the fourth round again. He will be able to have some time to rest this week before he heads to England for grass season, where he’ll be playing Queens to prepare for Wimbledon.

Fernando fought back the elements and some hand and foot issues to defeat the No. 30 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7¹, 6-4 in just over four hours, claiming a spot in the round of 16 and defending his points from last year. In addition to some service woes caused in part by the windy conditions (despite maintaining a high 75% first serve, Fernando served 15 total double faults for the match) and 61 total unforced errors, Fernando was also dealing with a blister on his racquet hand and broke the nail on his big toe on one foot and had to take three painkillers in order to continue playing.

“The truth is that there were times when even I was holding the tears of pain. It was a very difficult, very difficult match. When I lost the fourth set tie break, I thought I was more likely to lose than win it.

I took three pain pills, but the fourth set was a nightmare every time I put weight on my foot. I’ll see how I wake up tomorrow, and if necessary I’ll do some infiltration, but I am certain by removing the nail problem, I am one hundred percent. Winning against a tennis player like Kohlschreiber while dealing with so much pain makes me feel proud.”

Fernando will contest his fourth final of the year in an effort to capture his third title of the year and sixth overall, after defeating Leonardo Mayer 7-6³, 7-5 to advance to the finals of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur, where he will face Richard Gasquet.

The road to the final hasn’t been exactly easy for Fernando, as he was coming off an ankle injury suffered in Madrid prior to starting the tournament, and had problems with his elbow in his 6-2, 6-7⁵, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky: “I finished the match playing very well, although I had a problem with my arm. It worries me because I have Roland Garros next week and you don’t like to have this kind of problem three or four days before a Grand Slam.”

He had his elbow taped today, and mentioned in his presser after his match (listen here) that the tap helped him feel better and that there wasn’t much pain today. He received treatment yesterday and the doctors told him that the arm muscles were feeling tight and that he is working to relax the muscles and hopes to be 100% for Paris next week.

Fernando opened his campaign in Nice with a straight set 6-2, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Florent Serra to advance to the quarterfinals at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur.

After trailing 1-2 in the first set, Fernando went on to win eight of the next nine games to take a 6-2, 3-1 lead, sealing his victory in just over an hour and improving his clay season record to 16-4.

Click the link below to hear Fernando’s post match audio interview :)
http://www.opennicecotedazur.com/interviews-en-open-de-nice-cote-d-azur-2010.html

Fernando lost his third round match in Madrid against Jurgen Melzer, 5-7, 3-6. It was their third meeting this year (after Miami and Barcelona) and in both previous matches, Fernando lost the first set, forced a tiebreak and won the third , but this time, Melzer was in good form and Fernando, who had several chances to take the first set, was unable to convert and made some costly errors. In addition, he was dealing with a swollen ankle.

“Obviously I didn’t feel very well or very comfortable at any point in the match; even when I was ahead in the first set. I think he deserved to win more than I did; he played better than I did. Playing in my own city and not playing well is really disappointing. Losing at home and at a Masters 1000 hurts more than it did to lose in the final in Kuala Lumpur. Right now I’m pretty disappointed.”

Fernando said that his ankle was injured in his opening match against Karlovic, which was part of the reason he chose not to play doubles. “Today I played with the right ankle bandaged, and in the first set I got a blister on the tendon by the bandage, but the ankle was not the reason for the defeat.”

He said his injury is not serious, and that “if everything goes well, I will go to Nice to pick up some pace ahead of Paris. It is an area that is difficult to see because it is between the tendons of the right ankle. It is a nuisance I would rather not have, but if the doctors say its nothing serious, I will be able to go into Paris positively and believe that I can reach one hundred percent there.”

Fernando advanced to the third round of the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open with a 7-6⁵, 6-3 win over Ivo Karlovic, breaking a 3-match losing streak against the tall Croat. Fernando saved both break points he faced in the first set and won the tiebreak, then eased into the second set comfortably, closing it out in just under an hour and 40 minutes.

“In the first set there were some games where I had good opportunities. But almost every time I had chances to win one, or to break him, he managed to hit good first serves that made things more difficult. But I knew the match would be that way, and I was mentally prepared for it. Of course the tie-break in the first set boosted my confidence and allowed me to play more calmly in the second set, and in the end to break him.

“The important thing is that I managed to get past him, and I’m happy to move on to the next round. It’s always special to play in Madrid, in my city and with all the people. I love playing in Spain, but being from Madrid it’s even better to be here and have all the people behind me.”

Fernando plays Jurgen Melzer for a spot in the quarterfinals and a chance to defend last year’s points. Also, he and Feli withdrew from their doubles match due to low back pain for Feli, hopefully just a precautionary step.

David Ferrer got a little revenge over Fernando in Rome today, defeating him 7-5, 6-3. Fernando was up 5-1 and serving for the set, but it seems the fatigue of playing so much tennis over the past couple weeks finally seemed to catch up with him.

Still, Fernando can take away some positives from these past couple weeks. He reached his first ever Masters series semifinal, then final in Monte Carlo, won a 500 series title, and then reached his second consecutive Masters semifinal here in Rome. He’ll be able to take this coming week off to rest and prepare for Madrid, and depending on whether or not he drops Nice from his schedule, he should have enough time to rest to get ready for Roland Garros. Overall, he’s had an excellent start to his clay season, and despite the hard loss today, he should be full of confidence going in to Madrid and Paris! Vamos!

In his presser, Fernando also talked about the influence Andre Agassi is having on him:

“He was my idol, so it’s great to have your idol telling you all the things he thinks you should do and shouldn’t do, giving you some advice from all the things he did and maybe he did wrong,” Verdasco told Reuters.

“He’s helping me be a better player. Having someone like Agassi, who was my idol when I was a kid, telling you things is so special.

“Sometimes when I’m in Las Vegas (to see Cahill and Reyes) he comes to say hi and we speak, but he’s not in my team. He’s just helping me and giving me advice.

“He’s doing his part, like Darren, like Gil Reyes, like my dad and my fitness trainer in Madrid. He’s a person with all the experience of his long career.”

Fernando defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6⁴, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to his second Masters semifinal of the year! He faces compatriot David Ferrer for a chance to play in his third straight clay final.

Fernando defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 7-6² to reach his fourth consecutive tournament quarterfinal this year (Miami, Monte Carlo, Barcelona) and to also set up a rematch against Novak Djokovic, whom he defeated in straight sets in Monte Carlo two weeks ago. They play first up on Center Court tomorrow at 1pm local time.

Fernando continued his good run on clay by defeating local boy Simone Bolelli 7-6¹¹, 6-3 in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Despite still being tired from two straight weeks of tennis, Fernando played well today, fighting back from a 0-3 and then 2-5 deficit in the first set to force a tiebreak, where he saved several set points before Bolelli netted a forehand to give him the first set. The second set went much smoother and Fernando is safely into the round of 16 for the third year in a row, and will be looking to defeat compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in order to secure a sport in the quarterfinals and defend his points from last year. Vamos, Fernando!