Janko Tipsarevic topples Thomaz Bellucci to enter title-round – Mercedes Cup 2012
Top seeded Janko Tipsarevic outmuscled the Brazilian contender, Thomaz Bellucci, in a topsy-turvy three setter at the Mercedes Cup 2012 on Saturday. He formulated a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory against the 24-year-old to book a spot in the final showdown at this
ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Serbian number two, Tipsarevic, displayed top notch performance to outsmart Bellucci in their second meeting. After earning the limelight in almost two hours, Tipsarevic not only avenged his loss against the Brazilian at the Indian Wells Masters 1000
event three years ago but also reached his first final on clay courts.
“It really wasn’t easy today. I wasn’t feeling all that well on the court. The good thing was as the match progressed in the third set, I was starting to feel better,” Tipsarevic stated in a courtside interview. “Physically I was fit, considering I played
a three-hour match yesterday, and I’m happy I’m into the final. He was completely different than the other two players I played here... I had the right attitude throughout the match and that’s one of the main reasons why I’m through.”
Tipsarevic convincingly entered the Tennis Club Weissenhof and held his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He continued hitting angled shots and not only swiped his remaining serves but got the breakthrough in the ninth game to click the opener with
a 6-4 win.
Ranked 64th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Bellucci rebounded in the follow-up set. He got the desiderated break in the second game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Apart from losing his edge in the very next game, the underdog stroke
out the last four games in a row and sealed the equaliser by winning six games to two.
The match was poised at a knife edge but the world number eight found his early ascendancy and momentum. He got the coveted break in the opening game and then maintained his intensity, eventually carving out the victory with a 6-4 success.
Next in line for Tipsarevic is the second seed, Juan Monaco, who also battled past his rival, Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in a three-set nail-biter to set up this epic encounter.
The Argentinean star failed to block all three breakpoints he came across but cashed in four out of 13 break chances, eventually recording a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 score line in two hours and 40 minutes.
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