2011 Mutua Madrid Open: Novak Djokovic vs. Thomaz Bellucci – Semi-final Preview
Saturday night at Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain, will end with the second semi-final of the Mutua Madrid Open, between world number two Novak Djokovic of Serbia and the 36th ranked Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci. The
two in-form players will battle it out to book a berth in the final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 clay court tournament.
The incredible Serb came to Madrid being the hot favourite for winning the title, as he has already bagged five ATP championships in the running season, including the all-prestigious Grand Slam, the Australian Open. Djokovic rose
to his career best ranking of world number two at the beginning of the year, toppling the Swiss tennis god, Roger Federer. The Serb is undefeated this year so far, running the 30-match winning streak, the third longest season opening streak ever in the history
of the game. He had an assertive start to the Madrid Open, winning his opening round matches in straight sets and then dispensing out the world number six, David Ferrer of Spain, in the quarter-final to meet Bellucci in the last four. His current form clearly
depicts that he is the strongest contender for the Madrid title.
The unseeded Bellucci has been in a magnificent form in the tournament so far, upsetting the world number four Andy Murray in straight sets in the third round. He further surprised the seventh seeded Czech competitor, Tomas Berdych,
7-6(3), 6-3, in the round of eight to meet Djokovic in the semis. The young Brazilian has made his name in the tennis world in the shortest span of time and his abilities are considered to be one of the best in game.
“He’s a clay court specialist with surprising results beating a couple of seeded players with some great wins. It’ll be interesting,” Djokovic said about Bellucci after his quarter-final victory.
Bellucci faced the Serb for the first time at Rome Masters in 2010, where he suffered a straight sets defeat in the round of 16. This is the only encounter the Brazilian has had with Djokovic on the clay surface. He might be under
some sort of pressure while competing against the world number two player, especially when he has defeated him earlier. However, Bellucci’s form in the running ATP season has been quite impressive. The Brazilian has featured in the semi-final at Acapulco and
then carried on his good form to reach the quarter-finals of the European clay-court tournaments at Santiago, Costa do Sauipe and last week at Estoril. Bellucci is now playing his first ATP World Tour 1000 semi-final and is hoping to put up something extraordinary
to break the winning streak of the world number two Djokovic.
“I think I can beat any player,” expressed Bellucci right after winning his quarter-final matchup, “Djokovic and Ferrer are very good players and they are in a very good moment for themselves. They are losing very few matches,
but they are not invincible, they can also lose. The most important thing is that I continue playing like I have been and with a lot of concentration and I manage to play my best.”
The confident Brazilian is determined to outplay Djokovic but he has to come up with something special to do so. The second ranked Serb is still the hot favourite for the contest.
Saturday night at Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain, will end with the second semi-final of the Mutua Madrid Open, between world number two Novak Djokovic of Serbia and the 36th ranked Brazilian, Thomaz Bellucci. The
two in-form players will battle it out to book a berth in the final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 clay court tournament.
The incredible Serb came to Madrid being the hot favourite for winning the title, as he has already bagged five ATP championships in the running season, including the all-prestigious Grand Slam, the Australian Open. Djokovic rose
to his career best ranking of world number two at the beginning of the year, toppling the Swiss tennis god, Roger Federer. The Serb is undefeated this year so far, running the 30-match winning streak, the third longest season opening streak ever in the history
of the game. He had an assertive start to the Madrid Open, winning his opening round matches in straight sets and then dispensing out the world number six, David Ferrer of Spain, in the quarter-final to meet Bellucci in the last four. His current form clearly
depicts that he is the strongest contender for the Madrid title.
The unseeded Bellucci has been in a magnificent form in the tournament so far, upsetting the world number four Andy Murray in straight sets in the third round. He further surprised the seventh seeded Czech competitor, Tomas Berdych,
7-6(2), 6-3, in the round of eight to meet Djokovic in the semis. The young Brazilian has made his name in the tennis world in the shortest span of time and his abilities are considered to be one of the best in game.
“He’s a clay court specialist with surprising results beating a couple of seeded players with some great wins. It’ll be interesting,” Djokovic said about Bellucci after his quarter-final victory.
Bellucci faced the Serb for the first time at Rome Masters in 2010, where he suffered a straight sets defeat in the round of 16. This is the only encounter the Brazilian has had with Djokovic on the clay surface. He might be under
some sort of pressure while competing against the world number two player, especially when he has defeated him earlier. However, Bellucci’s form in the running ATP season has been quite impressive. The Brazilian has featured in the semi-final at Acapulco and
then carried on his good form to reach the quarter-finals of the European clay-court tournaments at Santiago, Costa do Sauipe and last week at Estoril. Bellucci is now playing his first ATP World Tour 1000 semi-final and is hoping to put up something extraordinary
to break the winning streak of the world number two Djokovic.
“I think I can beat any player,” expressed Bellucci right after winning his quarter-final matchup, “Djokovic and Ferrer are very good players and they are in a very good moment for themselves. They are losing very few matches,
but they are not invincible, they can also lose. The most important thing is that I continue playing like I have been and with a lot of concentration and I manage to play my best.”
The confident Brazilian is determined to outplay Djokovic but he has to come up with something special to do so. The second ranked Serb is still the hot favourite for the contest.
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