Slowly but surely more and more people learn to know what an outstanding entertainer Miguel Angel Rodriguez is . He is goddamn fast, he loves to run (also the wrong way, just to exploit his speed in a funnier way), hits magic exhibition-like shots (he acquired first world fame with this shot), but has also a very smooth basic technique. He is one of the very few players who generates smile on people's face who watch him play. On top of that, Rodriguez generates smiles even on his opponents face after his extravagant, funny solutions. The below rally is the last one of his second round match against Amr Shabana at the 2012 Tournaments of Champions in New York. What a crazy rally to finish a tight five-gamer! To add to the fun factor in a broader perspective, this match is almost perfectly mirroring last year's semi-final between Shabana and Nick Matthew in the very same place. In that 2011 match, Shabana came back from 2:0, in this match Rodriguez came back from 2:0 down. In that 2011 match Shabana ended up losing 3:2, in this one he ended up winning 3:2. In the 2011 match the final rally featured crazy four-corner squash with Shabana tinning a backhand drop shot, in this match it was a similarly crazy rally and a similar backhand drop tinned by Rodriguez that finished the match as you can see it below. And both years, the spectators erupted and gave the players a long standing ovation. One more time proved: New York Grand Central Terminal is bringing out the very best of the players.
