Thomaz Bellucci tops over Ivo Karlovic in the semi-finals – Kremlin Cup 2012
Fourth seeded, Thomaz Bellucci, prevailed over the Croatian professional, Ivo Karlovic, in the semi-finals of the Bank of Moscow Kremlin Cup held at the indoor hard court of Moscow, Russia. He penned down his three-setter win 6-7(5),
6-4, 6-4 in approximately two hour and 19 minutes on the eve of Saturday.
In a post match interview Bellucci told the media, "It was very tough for me. You are under so much pressure playing against Karlovic and his serve. You have to concentrate so hard on every point. It is my first indoor final so
I am very happy. Seppi is very good from the baseline. It will be tough for me to beat him tomorrow."
The 33-year-old, Karlovic, started the match displaying his greater experience and preserved his initial serve. He faced an equally tough competition at the hands of his challenger, who continuously levelled down the score line
after every alternate game. Karlovic beautifully served his challenger and he responded back by firing high paced forehands in response. In the end, he smartly stole the set by a 7-6(5) after a tough tiebreaker round.
In the second set the world number 41, Bellucci, jumped forward to avenge his former loss. He commenced the set at an average pace and like the previous set, the score line levelled down after every alternate game. Progressing
towards the end, the Brazilian professional cashed the only serve break and terminated the set with a 6-4 lead.
In the final set, the left-hander Brazilian profession repeated the same pattern. Both of the players held their serves and squared down the scores one after the other. This aroused an alarming situation for the Brazilian professional
as he battled hard to secure his former lead. He re-ignited his old spark and took a flying start to terminate the decider with a 6-4 win.
The 24-year-old attacked his competitor with 13 aces and had 72 percent initial serve precision. He converted 51 of 68 first serve with 20 of 26 second delivery points. He took the lead when he managed to attain two of nine serve
breaks but his contender could not snatch any. On the other hand, the Croatian native thunder with 19 aces but committed four double faults.
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