Thomaz Bellucci overcomes Martin Klizan to reach the semi-finals – ATP Challenger Tour Finals 2011
Top seed home favourite, Thomaz Bellucci, went through some tough channels before he finally took down the third seeded Slovakian, Martin Klizan, in his last Round Robin matchup at the season ending finale, the ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour Finals, on Friday.
The enthralling three setter took two hours and forty five minutes to conclude, with the top seeded Brazilian coming out as the winner at 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7). Bellucci improved his record to 2-1 in the Green Group after his Friday’s
victory, assuring a berth in the semi-finals of the mega event.
The left-hander Brazilian was outplayed in the opening set of the match by some aggressive game play by Klizan but the top seed made his valiant comeback in the very next set to bring his opponent down on even terms. A nail-biting
final set was witnessed by the local crowd at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil, with both men battling out extremely hard to seize the tie breaker round but it was Bellucci who stood tall in the end.
“I had to fight until the end and luckily I could get through,” said Bellucci after registering his hard-fought victory over Klizan. “I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. Sometimes you're not on your best day and you need
to find a way. The crowd really supported me and I used that good energy in the end.”
Bellucci earned a wildcard entry to the inaugural edition of the ATP Challenger Tour Finals, which features seven other top performers on the Tour. The Brazilian home favourite was semi-finalist at two ATP World Tour events this
season and had registered victories over top ranked player like Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych. He took off his ATP Challenger Tour Finals campaign by outplaying eighth seed Bobby Reynolds but fell to the sixth seed Andreas Beck in the second encounter in the
Round Robin. Bellucci was pushed down to the verge of defeat in the Friday’s contest as well but the world number 37 forced his way to victory to remain the number one contender for the prestigious title.
The top seed banged in 10 cracking aces and secured 47 out of 64 first serve points en route to victory. Both contestants registered three breaks of serve apiece but it was the final set tie breaker which really mattered in the
end. Bellucci will take on the fourth seeded Israeli competitor, Dudi Sela in the semi-final on Saturday night to earn a title shot in the final of the season ending event.
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