Roger Federer loses out against Thomaz Bellucci in Brazil – Tennis News
World number 33, Thomaz Bellucci, registered a monumental victory against the 31-year-old Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, in an exhibition match on Thursday.
He stunned the 17-time Grand Slam Champion in a close three-setter; winning it 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
It was the third contest between the two players in their professional careers. Federer had won the previous two battles in the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) and Swiss Indoors Basel, played in the current season. However, the 24-year-old Brazilian did
test the second ranked Swiss on each of the two occurrences; forcing the matches to extend to their limit of three sets.
Bellucci’s delight was doubled considering the fact that he was playing in front of his home crowd. Everyone in the arena was chanting the name of their local hero and sang several motivational songs throughout the duel on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Brazilian acknowledged the support from his fans. He stated, “It's always great to play in front of a full house. It's a special feeling to play this guy (Federer) here. He is the best of all time and it was a pleasure to share the court
with him.”
Federer also admired the turnout at the arena. He confessed, “I am very happy to be here. It took me a while to finally come to Brazil. Everybody has been really good to me and I can't thank you all enough for showing your support.”
Bellucci held his serve in the 12th game of the match to overcome the first hurdle. He led the set scores by 1-0 that ignited more interest amongst the spectators in the arena. The four-time Australian Open Champion, Federer, bounced back in the contest
with an all-round onslaught in the second set of the match.
Moreover, the early breakpoint for the Swiss Maestro early in the final set helped him gain an early control. However, the youngster rallied back to break serve and repeated a similar performance in the following game to take the lead.
In the 10th game of the final set, Federer misplaced a backhand return that gave a match point to the local. Bellucci converted the opportunity and ended an entertaining contest in his favour.
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