The first ATP clay court tournament of the year has caused many suprises this week. The likes of Juan Monaco, David Nalbandian and defending champion Thomaz Bellucci have all fallen by the way side. Todays final will pit new Colombian star Santiago Giraldo against clay court veteran Tommy Robredo. This is a very even match up. Robredo has fought his way through to the final and is starting to regain some confidence in his ability after what was a poor 2010 for the former top 10 player. He fought hard against Fognini in the semi-final and will have experience of ATP finals to his advantage in this tie. Santiago Giraldo though is playing very well too and is very up and coming. He will move into the worlds top 50 after this performance. The Colombian has defeated fellow seeds Juan-Ignacio Chela and Potito Starace in the last two rounds and has a terrific fighting spirit. He was nearly out again Starace but came back strong and never gave up. He has been serving well and it is only a few bad service games which have caused him problems. He has been very consistent. Head to head it is 1-0 to Giraldo but this was a comfortable win at last years Australian Open on hardcourts. This match is going to be different and will be a long match with plenty of clay court rallies. Robredo is favourite but I think if Giraldo can overcome 'first final' nerves then he could well be looking forward to lifting his first ATP trophy, plus his first name is the same as the city he is playing in, fate?
Match Prediction
Santiago Giraldo to win.
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