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BARCELONA, Spain -- Santiago Giraldo of Colombia beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Barcelona Open final on Saturday, as his Spanish rival suffered a letdown after ousting top-ranked Rafael Nadal. Giraldo will face fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan after he beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-2, 6-4 in the other semifinal on the red outdoor clay. Almagro slumped to his first loss in six meetings with Giraldo, a day after one of his biggest wins when he upset eight-time winner Nadal at the Real Club de Tenis. "Yesterdays game doesnt serve as an excuse," Almagro said. "Giraldo grazed perfection today, above all in the first set, and I couldnt find the answer." The unseeded Giraldo will be playing for his first career title on Sunday after he saved six of seven break points and finished the match with an emphatic ace. "I have always dreamed of reaching the top spots of the ATP ranking and tomorrow is a first step," Giraldo said. "But I am staying calm. I will keep to my routine and tomorrow will be a day to enjoy and play the best tennis I can." Giraldo prevailed in a match that featured several long rallies by proving more precise with his long groundstrokes. The first set was heading for a tiebreaker until Giraldo snatched it away by breaking Almagros last service game when he swatted a forehand return by the feet of the last years finalist. Almagro got an early break in the second set, but Giraldo won it right back and took control as Almagros nerves frayed with the match slipping away. "He believed more in his tennis, in how he had to play, and he barely made any mistakes," Almagro said. "I committed errors when I could have gone in front. That was the key." Earlier, Nishikoris faster movement overcame Gulbis big serve. Down a set, ninth-seeded Gulbis saved seven break points in the second before finally ceding his serve and losing the match. Nishikori will be seeking his second title of the season and fifth in his career. Nike Air Max Flair Nz . LA (SportsNetwork. Nike Air Max 270 Mens Nz . The former Toronto FC designated player played three of his 15 professional seasons with the team. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-1-nz.html . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Nike Air Max NZ Womens . Josh Mazzola drove in five runs to lead the Goldeyes (20-12) past the Capitales 11-5 Friday night at Le Stade Municipal in Quebec City. Nike Air Max 270 Nz Womens .Cameron sustained his third concussion in three seasons last week on a hit by Oakland safety Brandion Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the NFL for the helmet-to-helmet blow.BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Ghana really needs Asamoah Gyan now.After a last-minute 2-1 loss to Senegal to open its African Cup of Nations, the four-time champion is under pressure to recover and make the quarterfinals in Equatorial Guinea.Next up is top-ranked African team Algeria on Friday, with Gyans availability for the second round of Group C games still uncertain after he was diagnosed with mild malaria last weekend and sat out the loss to Senegal.Ghana would happily welcome the return of its captain and lead striker for the Algerian test. Against Senegal, the Ghanaians looked fragile and were eventually overpowered by a bigger, stronger Senegalese team to lose to a stoppage-time winner in Mongomo.Gyan is a very important player for us. A leader, our captain, stand-in skipper Andre Ayew said.Although Algeria also started slowly and fell behind against South Africa, the last 20 minutes of its ultimately comfortable 3-1 win showed what Africas No. 1 team can do. Following a sluggish first hour, Algeria found its groove to completely dominate the South Africans in the closing stages at Mongomo Stadium.Algeria will be closely watched by the other contenders having arrived at this tournament with a big buildup foollowing its impressive World Cup,One of those could be Senegal.ddddddddddddThe Senegalese were largely overlooked in the tough group as Algeria and Ghana took the attention. Thats swiftly changed after Senegal showed physicality and powerful forward play by striker Mame Biram Diouf to come from behind and beat Ghana, and it is now the favourite to beat South Africa.Its very simple, said Senegal goalkeeper and captain Bouna Coundoul. We know that we are capable of beating any team in this competition.South Africa has to pick itself up from perhaps the most demoralizing result for any of the four teams.Bafana Bafana led Algeria 1-0, but missed a penalty and a chance to double its lead, then conceded an own goal and two more late strikes to go down 3-1.Stressing about the penalty wont help anyone, said striker Tokelo Rantie, who missed the pivotal spot-kick to inspire Algerias comeback. I just need to be mentally strong. But I am very excited about the next game. That is my focus right now.South Africa has also lost central defender Rivaldo Coetzee for the Senegal game to a right knee injury, although defender Eric Mathoho and experienced midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane are back from suspension. ' ' '