2011 Movistar Open: Thomaz Bellucci sails into the second round
Defending Champion, Thomaz Bellucci drew against unseeded Italian Filippo Volandri on the first day of the 2011 Movistar Open in Santiago, Chile. On Monday, in their first ever meeting on an Association of Tennis Professionals
Tour, Brazil’s number one, Bellucci was merciless in his assault as the clay-court specialist took early leads in both sets, breaking his opponent’s service twice.
Currently ranked 30th in the South African Airways ATP rankings, Bellucci is playing for the third straight year in the event. In 2010, the 23-year-old tennis ace defeated Argentina’s Juan Monaco in the event to clinch
his second career title.
Seeded third in the event, Thomaz secured a 6-2 victory in the first set. He maintained his form and registered a 6-2 score in the following set as well to ensure a straight sets victory for himself. In a match that lasted for
over an hour, Bellucci was able to do away with Volandri with three aces and a loss of only 15 of 45 points on service. The Brazilian managed to convert five of five break points en route to his first victory in the event.
A jubilant Bellucci told the press, “I am happy with today’s result. It was easier than expected which is a good thing when you are starting a tournament and trying to get used to the conditions. My goal for this week is try to
do as good as last year. The conditions are very similar to last year, it’s dry and fast and it suits my game quite well.”
Bellucci will next play local wildcard entrant, Felipe Rios or Portuguese player, Rui Machado.
Although Volandri had to exit the event, his compatriot Potito Starace was able to surpass his previous best at the event. Starace was able to do away with local wildcard entrant Paul Capdeville in a three-set win, despite having
never made it past the first round in his three years of participation at the event.
Starace bounced back from being one set down to ensure his survival at the event in two hours and ten minutes. After losing the first set 3-6 and trailing 2-3 in the second, Starace was able to fight back and reverse the score
to secure a 6-3 victory for himself, before clinching a 6-4 victory in the deciding set.
Starace struck five aces and committed half as many double faults as his opponent did in the match. The Italian lost 36 of 89 points on service and converted 4 of 10 break points to move ahead in the event.
Also making it through to the next round was the Russian Igor Andreev. In his first ever meeting with Eduardo Schwank, Andreev was able to clinch a 6-3 victory in the first set. However, resistance from the Argentine pushed the
second set into a tiebreaker, which Andreev eventually won, 7-4.
Andreev lost only 18 of 70 points on service. He struck five aces and converted only one of four break points to secure a straight sets win for himself.
The 27-year-old Russian will next play either qualifier, Facundo Bagnis or eighth seed, Santiago Giraldo. On the other hand, Starace next plays Pablo Andujar.
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