Lightning is not supposed to strike twice in the same place, but Spain's 18th-ranked world player David Ferrer would probably dispute the fact after being upset for the second successive year in a South African Open semifinal by an infinitely inferior-rated Frenchman at a partly overcast Montecasino on Saturday afternoon.
The tournament shocks continued in the second semifinal after eighth-seeded Stephane had beaten Ferrer 7-5 6-4 when France's top-seeded "Mr Entertainment" of tennis, Gael Monfils, was beaten 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) by third-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez after suffering from a recurring knee injury in the second set of what constituted the most memorable and engrossing match of the tournament.
And it will now still be Spain v France in the 3,75-million South African Open final at Montecasino on Sunday afternoon - but ironically not between the two top seeds who were earmarked to battle for the title.
There is little doubt that the charismatic, outgoing Monfils' injury affected his prospects, despite battling valiantly to 6-6 in the final set.
But, at the same time, it should not be overlooked that Lopez's awesome lefthanded serving and sweetly-time ground strokes had enabled him to break and lead 2-0 in the second set before the Frenchman broke down in pain and at one stage appeared to be considering retiring.
Monfils was quite awesome in the opening set and he said afterwards that his physical trainer had forgotten to strap up his suspect knee.
"I knew in the second set that something was f...cked," he revealed afterwards, "so I said to myself just go out here and try to enjoy yourself."
The second-seeded Ferrer became increasingly frustrated by the guile of the 100th-ranked Robert while, no doubt, recalling the fate he had suffered against Jeremy Chardy in similar circumstances last year when he also failed to reach the final in unexpected fashion.
And what added greatly to the merit of the biggest success of the amiable Robert's career was the fact that he was still suffering from Hepatitis A little more than a year ago and was out of tennis for a matter of 15 months.
But he looked as fit as a fiddle as he ran Ferrer ragged and confused him by varying the pace of his shots and hitting winners in unexpected directions for his first-ever victory over a player ranked in the top 20 in the world.
Robert faltered only momentarily after winning the first set and leading 5-2 in the second set, dropping his service with a double-fault and then struggling to wind up his triumph after squandering three match-points in an extended last game that lasted 10 points.
Afterwards the 29 year-old Robert credited his French coach, Ronan Lafaix, for turning his career round at a stage when some players are thinking of retiring.
He is poised to gain a career-best ranking in the vicinity of 80 and says he is now motivated by the knowledge he can match and beat players of the calibre of Ferrer.
Once ranked as high as fourth in the world, Ferrer arrived in South Africa with the proclaimed ambition to regain a place among the world's top 10 players this year.
And the setback at Montecasino was clearly a bitter blow in this respect, with his disappointment mirrored y his anguished expressions on court after being outplayed and outsmarted by a fellow-baseliner.
"I just have to pick myself up and continue fighting," said the striking Spaniard who is known for this characteristic. - Sapa