Thomaz Bellucci outstrips Andreas Seppi on day four – French Open 2011
As expected, the world number 25, Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil blew away the 51st ranked Italian, Andreas Seppi in the second round of Roland Garros in Paris, France, on Wednesday. The in-form Brazilian needed just 90 minutes to outclass Seppi in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, making his way to the third round of the Grand Slam tournament.
Bellucci has been in belligerent form this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season and has already won two championship titles till date. The crafty Brazilian carried on his brilliant form in the French Open as well, winning his opening round match against Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan and then getting a third round pass after defeating Seppi in straight sets.
Seppi faced Bellucci last year in Hamburg, where he defeated the Brazilian 7-6(0), 5-7, 7-5, to win the quarter-final of the event. Bellucci finally avenged his defeat in the Wednesday’s matchup and levelled his head-to-head series against the Italian at 1-1.
It was the 17th victory for Bellucci in the current ATP season and was one of the most assertive ones as well. His big serve proved to be the critical success factor for him in the contest, as he amazingly reeled off 35 out of 40 first serve points with his 60 per cent precise serve. The Brazilian fired 10 aces in the match and conceded just 18 unforced errors, whereas Seppi spilled out 36 errors to remain at the losing end.
Bellucci had a terrific start to the game and clouted two serve breaks to wrap up the first set in just opening 20 minutes of play. He was very quick through the games and belted five winners to stun Seppi early in the contest.
Brazilian domination continued in the next set as well, with Seppi sinking further in the game. The Italian held serve in just two games, with Bellucci stinging two consecutive serve breaks to exacerbate his position in the match. The Brazilian secured 16 out of 19 total serve points to seal the second set at 6-2 and get a substantial lead of 2-0 in the contest.
The Italian finally showed some signs of life in the third set, holding serve in four games but still failed to break the opponent. Bellucci eased his way to the third round of the Grand Slam tournament by concluding the third set at 6-4. He will take on the world number 16, Richard Gasquet of France in his next encounter.
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