Thomaz Bellucci vs Alex Bogomolov Jr. – Quarterfinal Preview: Farmers Classic 2011
Fourth seed Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci is firmly secured in his top eight berth at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles. On Friday, Straus Stadium will witness Bellucci battle it out with American Alex Bogomolov Jr. for a place at
the semi finals of the Olympus US Opener Series tournament. It goes without saying that crowd support for the American player will far outstrip that for Bellucci. The match begins at 4.00PM (local time) at the Grand Stand of the Straus Stadium.
The Brazilian Bellucci had received a first round bye at the start of the Farmers Classic and proceeded on to the second round. Bellucci breezed through his second round match against doubles partner Colombian Alejandro Falla in
an effortless 6-0, 6-1 win. The American Bogomolov didn’t have things as simple; he had to steer clear of Australian qualifier Greg Jones in the opening match and then overcome seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in his second round match to reach the quarterfinals.
Bogomolov scored a convincing 6-4, 6-3 win in his last match.
World No. 34 Bellucci has been playing superbly throughout the season. He maintains a current win-loss standing of 21-15, no mean feat. The clay specialist has been very active on the ATP tour circuit but so far he hasn’t been
able reach a single final of a tournament, let alone clinch a title. Bellucci’s best performances to date this season have been his ability to make headway into the semi finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid in May and at Acapulco, Mexico in February.
He has two career titles to his name; one at Gstaad in 2009 and another at Santiago in 2010. This Los Angeles’ tournament is the Brazilian’s first ATP outing since Wimbledon earlier in the year.
The 28 year old Bogomolov has a current ranking of No. 64 on the singles’ table and came into the Los Angeles tournament with a win loss standing of 10-9, nothing spectacular. His performance on the ATP circuit too has been dismal
and the American has rarely made it to the quarterfinals of a tournament. With this match, Bogomolov’s tally of quarterfinals played in the year goes up to 4 and this has been his career’s best outing at the Farmers Classic. Bogomolov has however been on top
of the game at the challenger circuit and has a number of wins to his credit.
It seems as if both the players are evenly matched, making it difficult to single out a potential winner. In Bogomolov’s advantage is the continuous practice he’s got on the challenger circuit while the otherwise superior Bellucci
is essentially a clay specialist. His two career titles have been won off clay courts and he’d be at a disadvantage at the hard courts in Los Angeles. The match will be a fiercely contested, three set bout with both the players standing an equal chance to
move on to the semis.
Tags: