Argentine tennis player Sebastian Baez was imposed this Wednesday of 6-3 and 6-2 in brazilian Thomas Bellucci in first round of the Rio de Janeiro Openthe only ATP 500 tournament in South America, which is the farewell match for one of the best tennis players in Brazilian history.
Báez, number 35 in the ATP international rankings and winner of the Córdoba Open two weeks ago, needed only one hour and 35 minutes to undoubtedly defeat the Brazilian (915 ATP), who said goodbye to the courts in 35 years.
The Argentine will face Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas (81 ATP) in the round of 16 of the Rio tournament, who defeated Frenchman Hugo Gastón in the first round and was a big surprise last week at the Argentina Open, where He was one of the semifinalists.
Bellucci was honored by the organizers of the Rio Open after the game and even Báez himself, pen in hand, asked the Brazilian to leave his autograph on one of the game’s main broadcast cameras.
“One of the great names in the history of national tennis has just ended his brilliant career after representing our flag for many years,” said the organization of the Brazilian tournament in a message on their social networks.
The tennis player born in 1987 in the state of Sao Paulo won eight ATP Challengers titles and four ATP 250 titles in his career, and was number 21 in the world in the ATP rankings in July 2010.
It was Bellucci semifinalist at the Masters 1,000 in Madrid in 2011disputed quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and he got it six wins against players ranked in the top 10 at the time of the world.
He also shared a record 22 victories in the matches in which he represented Brazil in the Davis Cup. “I got a lot more than I expected. It was amazing to represent Brazil so many times“said the paulista after his last fight as a professional.
“I hope I said goodbye in the best way and I hope you guys enjoyed my last moment on the court,” he added.
The ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, which takes place on the clay courts of the Brazilian Jockey Club and distributes prizes of 2.2 million dollars, is part of the clay tour in South America, which began with the Córdoba Open and the Argentina Open, and will end in next week at the ATP 250 in Santiago (Chile).
Source: La Verdad
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