Alejandro Falla prevails over Thomaz Bellucci in the first round – Rakuten Japan Open 2012
Colombia’s 57th ranked player, Alejandro Falla, downed Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, in the opening round of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo on Tuesday. The Colombian national
took one hour and 24 minutes to clinch win in a one sided contest.
Falla and Bellucci started the encounter by holding their opening serves to equalise the score at 1-1. The Brazilian was first to take lead, as he broke Falla in the third game to go up 2-1 but the Colombian hit back immediately
to even out the proceedings at 2-2. Bellucci struck again in the fifth and this time he managed to consolidate on it, attaining a 4-2 lead. The Brazilian maintained his advantage till 5-3 but Falla played remarkable well after that to win four back to back
games and win 7-5.
The Colombian contestant hit one ace and committed the same number of double fault, keeping his first serve percentage at 73 and pocketing 20 of the 30 with their help in the first set. The left-hander did well to save five of
the seven break points he faced and converted three of the 10 he received.
Falla carried his first set’s superb form into the second one, clinching opening two games to take a 2-0 lead. Though, Bellucci was in no mood to get upset easily, as he broke back in the third and held his next serve to square
it off at 2-2. It was all Falla show after that, as he struck twice, grabbing four games in a row to capture it 6-2.
The Colombian banged in three aces and 68 percent of the first serves, securing 11 of the 15 points on them. The 28-year-old took full advantage of poor serving by Bellucci, who committed five double faults and put in just 46 percent
of the first deliveries. The Brazilian availed the only break opportunity he created but failed to put away three of the six threats he came across in the second set.
Falla is pitted against the second seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, in the second round.
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