Dudi Sela stuns Thomaz Bellucci to secure final berth – ATP Challenger Tour Finals 2011
Israeli Dudi Sela overpowered local top seed Thomaz Bellucci in the semi-final of TP Challenger Tour Finals. On Saturday November 19th, both players were seeing of each other for the second time and ironically inferior
ranked Sela had defeated his competitor on their previous meeting as well. This time he triumphed in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in just over an hour and 35 minutes.
The match was contested at indoor hard-courts of Sao Paulo sporting arena, Brazil. Poor run of form was the main reason for World No.37, Bellucci’s loss. Visitor was in supreme form and wanted to repeat the heroics of their last
meeting and succeeding in doing so.
Local crowd gathered in numbers to support their top seed tournament favourite hero who failed to provide them with the glorious feeling and left two non-Brazilian players for the final contest. Spectators were dejected because
their local hero had disappointed them and they will not have any local player in the final whilst the finale will be contested at their home ground.
Match started in traditional manner as both players held their serves and pushed the score slowly and gradually. The tempo was slow as no outrageous shots were seen in the first few games and Bellucci picked up the pace in the
fourth game and struck two marvellously placed aces that delighted the crowd. He continued his domination and broke his opponent’s serve in the net game that brought life to the spectators and they started cheering every point.
Sela didn’t panicked and broke in the next game to level things up at 3-3. The next three games were held by each player on their serves but in the last game of the set, local hero was dismantled completely by an ecstatic onslaught.
Visitor struck some delicately placed winners coupled with a classy drop shot that landed right next to the net and bounced twice before Bellucci could reach near it.
Pin drop silence was experienced as crowd was struck with grief and they hinted an upset. Second set was carbon copy of the first set except there were no breakpoints earned by the local. Sela dominated the show with two aces and
commanding display that stunned the crowd.
Pressure of winning the second set proved too much for the local who lost his concentration in the last game and once again Israeli tennis ace took advantage of the situation and broke in the last game of the second set to clinch
the berth in the final.
Dudi Sela faces-off Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the final.
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