Last year, Rafael Nadal used the ATP tournament in Vina del Mar to ignite his comeback from injury.  This year, one of Nadal’s compatriots aims to do the same.

 

Nicolas Almagro withdrew from the Australian Open and other January tournaments with a shoulder injury that lengthened his offseason.  This flamboyant Spaniard endured a 2013 campaign of peaks and valleys.  The tone was set near the outset when Almagro reached the Australian Open quarterfinal, only to let that golden opportunity escape when he failed to serve out the match three times.  Perhaps deflated by that setback, he produced inconsistent results at most of the season’s key tournaments thereafter.  But Almagro seemed to catch his breath late last fall, reaching the quarterfinals or better at three of his last four tournaments before offseason and injury intervened.

 

Still in the top 20, the Spaniard looks to regain his momentum on a surface that has favored his compatriots.  Almagro holds the third seed in Vina del Mar, a position that offers him a promising draw without subjecting him to the scrutiny of a Nadal-like title favorite.  He began his campaign on Thursday afternoon against qualifier Martin Alund, not a man to be taken lightly.  Unknown until last season, Alund reached an ATP semifinal during this South American clay swing and took a set off Nadal in Buenos Aires.  The Argentine already had won four matches in Vina del Mar, including three qualifying wins and a routine victory in the main draw over Albert Ramos, a higher-ranked opponent.

 

Thus, the chasm separating Almagro from world No. 133 Alund in the rankings might have been mitigated by the favorite’s rust and the underdog’s momentum surge.  A week full of upsets at all three ATP tournaments threatened to claim another when Almagro lost the first set.  But he dominated behind his first serve throughout the match, dropping four total first-serve points across three sets.  That trend bore fruit in the second and third sets when Almagro's superior weight of shot and improved consistency wore down Alund.  Advancing 4-6 6-3 6-4, the Spaniard must have felt encouraged that he lived to fight another day despite a potentially dangerous test.

 

Up next for Almagro is a 21-year-old Japanese qualifier, Taro Daniel.  Ranked outside the top 200, Daniel upset world No. 61 Federico Delbonis on Thursday to reach his first ATP quarterfinal.  He has won five matches this week between the qualifying draw and the man draw, so once again Almagro will face an underdog with plenty of momentum.  Now, however, he may be more ready to answer the bell.