Fernando Verdasco ejects Thomaz Bellucci from the opening round – Cincinnati Open 2011
World number 21, Fernando Verdasco of Spain, had his revenge against Thomaz Bellucci, defeating the Brazilian in the opening round of Western and Southern Financial Group Masters on Monday afternoon.
Unseeded in the tournament, Verdasco showed his top class to dispose of the in-form Bellucci in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(4), to make a spot in the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event.
The contest was staged at the outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States, with the Spaniard registering his 28th victory of the running year in one hour and forty seven minutes of play.
Verdasco faced a defeat at the hands of Bellucci earlier this ATP season, when the Brazilian outplayed him at Acapulco, Mexico, in the round of 32 to break the two-match winning streak of the Spaniard against him. Verdasco avenged
his defeat in Monday’s contest to extend his all-time head-to-head lead by 3-1 and booked a berth in the second round of Cincinnati Masters.
Verdasco dominated the opening set of the contest with authority but faced some serious resistance from the opponent in the second set. The 21st ranked Spaniard remained focused in the entire matchup and eventually bagged
the second set tie breaker to register victory in the end. He saved six out of seven break points he faces from Bellucci in the matchup and nailed two out of nine serve breaks en route to victory.
The unseeded Spaniard was off to a steady start in the opener and stung the first serve break of the day in the sixth game to extend his lead to 5-2. Verdasco secured 13 out of 17 first serve points in the first set, while Bellucci
clinched 14 out of 21 points to drop the opener. The Brazilian failed to recover from the deficit and submitted the opening set at 3-6 to let his rival one up in the contest.
Verdasco broke the Brazilian serve in the very first game of the next set to lead 2-0 but Bellucci finally registered his first serve break of the day in the sixth game to level the scores at 3-3. A regular game was followed, which
took the second set into a decisive tie breaker round but Bellucci crumbled under pressure to bestow victory upon Verdasco at 6-7(4).
The Spaniard will play against either Mikhail Youzhny of Russia or Michael Llodra of France in the second round of Cincinnati Open.
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