Let’s the Samba begin on the grass court of All-England.
Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci looks to continue his surge in the world ranking, when he starts playing on the turf of All England Court for the 2010 Wimbledon Open.
Bellucci, 22, is starting to become a common name following a series of solid performances in the ATP circuit.
Bellucci reached the fourth round of the French Open, defeating the likes of Ivan Ljubičić, Pablo Andújar, and Michaël Llodra.
Many tennis followers were amazed on how Bellucci held his composure in the match against eventual French Open champion Rafael Nadal, taking him in over 2 hours of high quality tennis.
Belluci: A Future Antidote To Nadal?
Despite Thomanz Belluci’s hopeful and impressive bid into the French Open, his foray was halted when Rafael Nadal made amends with his devastating past at the Roland Garros.
Nadal successfully pushed past Belluci to gain his 200th victory on clay. Nadal qualifies for the quarterfinals of the grand slam tournament. Four-time French Open winner Nadal had a devastating defeat against Robin Soderling during last year’s Roland Garros.
Although Belluci had fronted a good defense and delivered a good play, Nadal still broke his resilience on Philippe Chatrier Court. Bellluci was no longer able to sustain his impressive feat.
Belluci was able to save several break points against his famed opponent only to get defeated in straight sets 6-2 7-5 6-4. Even so, it Belluci deserves the recognition for it was his first into the latter rounds of the Roland Garros, an incredible feat.
The Brazilian player qualified in the last-16 stage of the French Open after defeating 14th seed Ivan Ljubicic. Belluci suffered the same fate two years ago when he faced Nadal.
While his previous and recent match with Nadal had the same results, there was considerable improvement observed in Belluci when he faced the four time French Open champion. The Brazilian had been eager all this time to show Nadal that he has improved since their last meeting.
Although his hopes for another round at the Roland Garros were dampened by Nadal, Belluci held his ground quite well for a first timer in the last-6 stage. He pushed for a deuce and took a break when he delivered good play two games later.
Belluci eventually gave up serve incurring 40-0 as he saw more errors committed during the seventh game. This gave Nadal the chance to get the set’s serve out. The serve matched how the second proceeded but Belucci was able to push for a turnover and came from behind pushing for a break in the fifth game.
However, he gave Nadal another serve out opportunity after committing a double fault. Belluci surged to 0-40 before he was able to convert his third break-back point delivering an impressive running forehand.
Nonetheless, there was another dropped serve again but eventually Nadal served out again. Although he has suffered another defeat, Belluci has certainly made his mark as a star in his own right.
Belluci has been a top ranking tennis player from the time he entered the field. Currently he is ranked 26th which is a career high.
Back in 2008, Belluci proved his noteworthy presence when he won a series of ITC Challenger tournament matches.
This allowed him to penetrate the ATP World Tour’s top 100 rankings. He was ranked at the age of 20. The following year, Belluci played for the Brasil Open while winning the Swiss Open title the next. It was his first tour title. He recently won a second tour title in Chile during the Movistar Open tournament.
Belluci has a distinctive playing style which allowed him to proceed to the last-16 stage of the Roland Garros. He incorporates a heavy topspin when delivering big forehands. This usually allows him to control the points.
Despite his still lacking capacity to deliver many aces, his serves usually have an excellent spin in them. Belluci often uses this to drive his opponents outside the court while allowing him to take an offensive front. His recent play shows every bit of sign that Belluci is another player to look out for.
Critics believe Bellucci is a diamond in a rough. He is a superstar in the making that can really compete against Roger Federer and perhaps dethrone Rafael Nadal as the King of Clay in the future.
Bellucci Tackles Grass Court Challenge
Now, Belluci is now looking to have a rather solid performance on a surface in which he had trouble before – grass.
Belluci aims to surpass his second round outing last year by playing first his compatriot Ricardo Mello in the opening round.
Belluci is expected to play Robin Soderling in what would be an exciting match between two of tennis rising stars.
For Bellucci, it is time to take his samba moves to work.
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