“I tried to play it at the beginning, but I did not expect such results…He starts playing and his balls bounce up six meters high,” Almagro told reporters. “These are things I’m not used to. I’m not used to that on the tour, to have such heavy balls, such pace, such rhythm. His level is very high. It’s very difficult to play equal.”

Best Case Scenario: A player such as David Ferrer or Juan Monaco gets a shot at Nadal on a day when Rafa is feeling low. Maybe he had a tough match, maybe he is a little sick, maybe he got dumped … but a day where Nadal is not at his steely best. On that day, Ferrer especially could come through.