Qatar Open: Andy Murray beats Alexandre Muller to reach semi-finals
Andy Murray reaches his first ATP semi-final in eight months by going the distance again to beat French qualifier Alexandre Muller in Qatar.
Andy Murray reaches his first ATP semi-final in eight months by going the distance again to beat French qualifier Alexandre Muller in Qatar.
ATP is proud to announce a new multi-year partnership with waterdrop®, a fast-growing Austrian hydration brand. waterdrop® becomes the Official Hydration Partner and Gold Partner of the ATP Tour from 2023.
With a mission to encourage people to Drink More Water, waterdrop® is committed to helping customers live healthier, longer and more sustainable lives. Products, including Microdrinks dissolvable cubes, reusable water bottles and cutting-edge water filtration systems, are designed to eliminate plastic waste. To date, waterdrop® products have prevented more than 30 million plastic bottles from entering circulation.
The partnership will see ATP and waterdrop® promote sustainable hydration on the ATP Tour. The brand will provide its signature reusable bottles to players, staff and volunteers – paving the way for significant reduction in plastic bottle usage across the season.
waterdrop® will also introduce innovative on-court hydration benches for players and hydration stations for fans at a global portfolio of ATP Tour events. On-site activations will offer fans the chance to experience the brand’s exciting range of products and flavours, and pick up their own reusable bottle, as used by the professionals themselves. With more than five million fans attending professional tennis tournaments each season, this will form an integral pillar of the ATP’s drive to reduce its environmental impact under ATP Serves.
In addition, waterdrop® has engaged superstar tennis ambassadors Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Danielle Collins to advance the brand’s mission and storytelling within sports and tennis. waterdrop® will also collaborate with ATP’s medical team to support hydration of all participating players.
“We are thrilled to welcome Waterdrop to the ATP Tour’s global family of partners,” said Daniele Sanò, ATP Chief Business Officer. “Sustainability is something our players, tournaments and fans care deeply about. We’ve set ambitious targets and it’s great to have a passionate brand like Waterdrop support us on that journey. We’re excited to provide the tennis community with the most sustainable hydration products possible.”
“Shaking up the beverage industry is not only necessary, it’s a real ecological emergency. We strongly believe that the values and commitments already shown by the tennis world are a great match with our vision. This new journey with ATP is the beginning of a major and profound transformation. Reducing our plastic use and unnecessary CO2 emissions are steps we must all take. We are thrilled to see the best tennis players in the world using our bottles and hydration benches. It’s an important symbol for this on-going profound change in the industry,” said Martin Murray, CEO & founder of waterdrop®.
“Drinking enough water is key for a healthy lifestyle and our performance as athletes. However, this does not have to come at the expense of the environment,” said Taylor Fritz. “It’s great to see our sport taking the right steps in that direction. I believe that by working together we can make real progress towards eliminating plastic on Tour”.
Look out for waterdrop®, Official Hydration Partner at the Delray Beach Open, Open 13 Provence (Marseille), Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (Lyon), Hamburg European Open, Citi Open (Washington), Winston-Salem Open and Moselle Open (Metz) in 2023.
Get Your Own ATP Bottle
Jiri Lehecka earned the biggest win of his career by Pepperstone ATP Ranking Thursday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he upset World No. 5 Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second tour-level semi-final.
The 21-year-old Czech entered the clash off the back of straight-set wins against Damir Dzumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori and he demonstrated his confidence levels in a heavy-hitting performance against the top seed.
Lehecka timed the ball cleanly off both wings, causing damage with his flat forehand to hit through a frustrated Rublev. He broke twice, sealing his victory after one hour and 41 minutes to improve to 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rublev.
“These past two months have been very great for me,” Lehecka said in his on-court interview. “I was very looking forward to playing here in Doha on this beautfiul centre court, so I am very happy with the win and looking forward to tomorrow.”
The Czech will aim to advance to his first tour-level final when he faces former World No. 1 Andy Murray or French qualifier Alexandre Muller on Friday. Lehecka, who is up eight spots to No. 44 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last year.
Lehecka ended his 2022 season in style when he reached the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in Milan. Using that run as a springboard, he has made a fast start to 2023. The 21-year-old now holds an 11-3 record on the year, highlighted by his quarter-final run at the Australian Open, where he earned his first Top 10 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“I have improved everything,” Lehecka said when refelcting on his progress. “Mostly my mentality on the court. I gained confidence from Next Gen and now I have learnt how to use it.”
Rublev was aiming to continue his impressive record at the ATP 250 hard-court event, having reached the final in 2018 and won the title in 2020.
Teaming for the first time, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Marcelo Melo reached the quarter-finals at the Rio Open presented by Claro on Wednesday when they clawed past Austrians Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
The second seeds broke twice and raised their level in the Match Tie-break, winning five consecutive points from 1/2 before sealing victory on serve after one hour and 30 minutes. Cabal has tasted success at the ATP 500 clay-court event, winning the title with Robert Farah in 2014 and 2016.
The Colombian and Brazilian Melo will aim to keep their run going this week when they face Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Diego Schwartzman.
In other action, Nikola Cacic and Andrea Pellegrino upset top seeds Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 7-6(8),4-6, 11-9. The qualifiers will next meet Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni after the Argentines beat Mateus Alves and Joao Fonseca 7-5, 7-6(4).
Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul saved one match point to overcome Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 4-6, 11-9, while Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar beat Marcelo Demoliner and Felipe Meligeni Alves 1-6, 7-5, 13-11.
Bopanna/Ebden Advance To Doha SFs
Third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden booked their spot in the semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open Wednesday when they overcame Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni 1-6, 6-4, 11-9.
The Indian-Australian team recovered from a slow start, winning 90 per cent (19/21) of their first-serve points in the second set and all six in the Match Tie-break to triumph at the ATP 250 after 76 minutes.
They will next play Daniel Evans and Jonny O’Mara after the British pair beat second seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 7-6(3), 7-5.
Botic van de Zandschulp and Constant Lestienne moved past fourth seeds Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 to reach the semi-finals. The Dutch-French duo will play Patrik Niklas-Salminen and Emil Ruusuvuori next. The Finns defeated Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens 7-6(4), 6-4.
Home Favourites Mahut/Martin Through In Marseille
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin earned their first win of the season as a team Wednesday at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.
The second seeds defeated Andrew Harris and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(6), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP 250. Mahut won the title in Marseille in 2012, 2017 and 2020, while Martin triumphed in 2019. They will next meet Jonathan Eysseric and Denys Molchanov.
Top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin advanced, beating Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech 6-0, 6-4. Belgians Zizou Bergs and David Goffin also secured their spot in the quarter-finals, taking out Marco Bortolotti and Sergio Martos Gornes 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.
Carlos Alcaraz continues to dip his toes into the world of fashion with a fresh feature story this month in Vogue. In the wide-ranging article, Alcaraz touches on his love for chess, his fashion sense and his admiration for Roger Federer, among many other topics.
Complete with photoshoot imagery of the 19-year-old, the longform piece provides new insight into the routines, habits and whims of the ATP Tour’s newest superstar. Alcaraz also discusses what he called a “bad period” after he won the US Open last September for his first Grand Slam title.
“That sounds like I’m making it up,” Alcaraz said, before explaining the stress that followed his achievement in New York, which made him the youngest No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Read an excerpt from the feature below.
Alcaraz grew up just over an hour from [the Ferrero academy], in a village outside Murcia called El Palmar, a place he still visits on weekends. Everyone knows one another, he says, and he has the same friends he hung out with as a child. Some 40 years ago his great-uncle built a tennis club there, on what was a clay-pigeon shooting range, and Alcaraz’s grandfather, Carlos, joined in the venture. Later, Alcaraz’s father—who played professional tennis until he couldn’t afford to continue—became the director. So Carlitos was born, he says, “with tennis in my blood.” His older brother, Álvaro (now 23), played in tournaments before him, and his younger brothers (ages 13 and 11) are as passionate about tennis as the rest of the family, including his mother, who until recently worked as a shop assistant at IKEA. Alcaraz got his first racket at the age of four, and, according to his father, cried when he had to stop playing to go home for dinner. His social life revolved around the tennis club.
By the time he was 12, he was a serious enough player that he was sponsored by Babolat and Lotto. A family friend who owns Postres Reina, a yogurt and dessert company based in Murcia, had already given him the money he needed to get to a junior tournament in Croatia, and continued to cover a lot of his travel costs. Ferrero first saw him play right around this time. “I’d already heard about him,” his coach says. “Especially the fact that he was doing a lot of different things—drop shots and lobs and running to the net, things that young kids don’t do, they just stay at the back, fight, and run. He was very dynamic, you could already see that.”
Alcaraz’s routine is those several hours of tennis a day, plus training and physical therapy, and a siesta after lunch. He eats whatever he wants, but healthily. In the evenings he’s trying to learn English. “I’ve improved, but I’ve got a long way to go!” Occasionally he’ll watch a movie, and prefers—fittingly—either what he calls suspense or motivation. Motivational movies? I ask, a little confused. “Yes,” he replies. “Sylvester Stallone. You know: Rocky Balboa.”
… One hobby is chess. “I love chess. Having to concentrate, to play against someone else, strategy—having to think ahead. I think all of that is very similar to the tennis court,” Alcaraz says. “You have to intuit where the other player is going to send the ball, you have to move ahead of time, and try to do something that will make him uncomfortable. So I play it a lot.”
Read the full Vogue feature here.
For a straight-sets match, particularly one without a tie-break, this one on Wednesday night at the Rio Open presented by Claro was as epic as they come. Cameron Norrie’s 7-5, 7-5 win against Thiago Monteiro was a two-and-a-half-hour odyssey that saw the Briton create 21 break points before clinching victory on his sixth match point.
Eight of the 12 games in the opening set featured at least one break chance, including a marathon seven-deuce game at 1-1 in which Monteiro saved four break points to hold. All told, the Brazilian erased 16 break points, but it was not enough to take a set off the in-form second seed.
“It was a great match,” Norrie said post-match. “I had a lot of opportunities in that first set and I could have been a lot more comfortable but he fought back strong and played really well in the bigger moments and served really well. Credit to him, but I was able to tough out the end of the sets.
“I was really hitting my backhand line really well and it made it difficult for him when he was trying to cheat over on his forehand,” he added, discussing the lefty vs. left rallies.
Norrie had an opportunity to close out both sets on serve at 5-4, but was denied on both occasions, much to the delight of the late-night crowd on Court Guga Kuerten. In set two, Monteiro saved three match points on his own serve at 3-5 to extend the match, but he could not claw out of a 40/0 hole in his opponent’s second attempt to serve out the victory.
After reaching the final last week in Buenos Aires, losing to Carlos Alcaraz, Norrie’s victory improved his record to 5-1 this season on the South American clay. He and Alcaraz are once again the top two seeds this week, and could square off again in the final of the ATP 500.
Norrie will next play Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien, who upset ninth seed Alex Molcan 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, sixth seed Sebastian Baez defeated Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-2 to bring the former World No. 21’s farewell tournament to an end. The 35-year-old Bellucci was competing in the Rio main draw for the sixth time, his best result a quarter-final run in his 2014 debut.
“I’m happy with what I have done in 20 years of professional tennis. I’m very happy for what I have achieved,” said the Brazilian. “Amazing atmosphere today, so I’m very happy to have my last match here in Rio, close to my family, my friends and all the Brazilian crowd.”
Baez, who won the Cordoba title earlier this month on home soil in Argentina, will face Juan Pablo Varillas in the second round. The Peruvian was a 7-5, 6-4 winner against Hugo Gaston on Tuesday.
Yosuke Watanuki has enjoyed a strong start to the year following a career-best season on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Japanese player is doing it all with his brother by his side.
The 24-year-old, who is competing at this week’s Monterrey Challenger, is coached by his brother Keisuke, who is roughly five years older. Yosuke, World No. 130 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, claims they are a dynamic duo.
“I think it works for me and makes us stronger,” Watanuki said. “He cares about me so much. Sometimes people think it’s not good enough because he wasn’t a top player before, he’s young, or because he hasn’t coached a Top-50 player. But we are going up together, it’s good for us. He can hit and he’s good with the mental side of the game. I think that’s really good for me. Sometimes we fight, like brothers do!”
Watanuki has consistently kept his coach’s corner within the family. Before Keisuke came on board, the eldest of the three brothers, Yusuke, was his full-time coach until about three years ago.
After a strong finish to 2022, Watanuki isn’t selling himself short for what he can achieve this year. The former junior World No. 2 has his eyes set on climbing into the Top 100 and beyond to have a shot at fulfilling a childhood dream.
“My goal for this year is Top 80,” Watanuki said. “Because next year is the [Paris] Olympics, I really want to play there. It’s my dream. And Top 80 will give me a chance to play the Olympic games next year.”
Watanuki’s late-season surge in 2022 wasn’t without challenges. Three games into his first-round match at the ATP 250 in Seoul, the Japanese star rolled his ankle and was forced to retire against Jaume Munar. Watanuki then forfeited his wild card at the ATP 500 event in Tokyo, which would’ve been his first tour-level event on home soil since 2018, when he advanced through qualifying en route to his maiden tour-level main-draw victory (d. Haase).
Yosuke Watanuki in action at the 2023 Canberra Challenger. Credit: Anastasia Kachalkova
After recovering from the ankle injury, Watanuki went on a hot streak. He won 14 of 15 Challenger-level matches to close the season, including back-to-back titles at the Kobe and Yokkaichi Challengers. The first week of the Asian Challenger swing, Watanuki was a finalist in Yokohama, Japan, before winning 10 consecutive matches.
“I was playing well those three weeks,” Watanuki said. “I was coming back from injury, I hadn’t played that well the first half of the year, and my ranking had dropped. But I tried to play my best and I was surprised to be in the Yokohama final. Then I went to Kobe, lovely place, I won my first Challenger title there (2019). The first week, Yokohama, I was so happy. The second one I was more surprised [to be in another final].”
This year, Watanuki was a semi-finalist at the season-opening Canberra Challenger, where he lost to eventual champion Marton Fucsovics. Watanuki built upon his momentum to qualify for his maiden Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open.
“When I got into the main draw, I was so happy because I tried to qualify for a Grand Slam seven times before,” Watanuki said. “I had made the final round of qualifying two times and lost both. I was a little bit nervous this time because I wanted to make a Grand Slam this year for sure. When I won the final round of qualifying, I was so happy. The first match, I was so excited to play.”
Watanuki earned a straight-sets victory over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round before falling to eventual quarter-finalist Sebastian Korda.
Yosuke Watanuki made his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the 2023 Australian Open. Credit: Martin Keep/Getty Images
The Saitama native is the third highest-ranked Japanese male, only behind Yoshihito Nishioka and Taro Daniel. Watanuki draws inspiration from former World No. 4 and countryman Kei Nishikori, who was a finalist at the 2014 US Open and earned the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic games.
Watanuki shared that he admires what Nishikori has accomplished and how he’s carried the torch for Japanese tennis the past decade. Nishikori, who has been plagued with injuries, has not competed since October 2021. The 12-time tour titlist has even offered advice to Watanuki.
“Kei made history,” Watanuki said. “A Japanese guy to be World No. 4, that’s good for [other Japanese players] because we think, ‘We can be there because another Japanese player is there!’ Also, Naomi [Osaka] winning four Grand Slams. They give me so much power like, ‘I can be there!’
“Also, Kei told me some things technically and mentally. It’s not easy to get advice from a Top-4 player, but that is so good for me.”
Life on the Challenger Tour isn’t easy. With constant traveling and pressure mounting as players aim for their professional breakthrough, Watanuki has a unique escape from tennis.
“When I stay in Japan, I love to drive my car after midnight, late-night drives!” Watanuki said. “Tennis can be so stressful, so much pressure. When I drive in that moment, it’s like I feel nothing. It’s relaxing.”
Top 5 stars Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will lead the field at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the ATP 500 hard-court tournament in Mexico:
The 2023 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will be held from 27 February – 4 March. The hard-court ATP 500 tournament, established in 1993, will take place at the Boulevard de las Naciones & Paseo de los Manglares. The tournament director is Alvaro Falla.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC will feature stars including Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC draw will be made Saturday, 25 February at 3 p.m.
*Qualifying: Saturday 25 February – Sunday 26 February at 5 p.m.
*Main Draw: Monday 27 February – Wednesday 1 March at 6 p.m.
*Thursday 2 March at 4:30 p.m.
*Friday 3 March at 6 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Saturday 4 March at 6:30 p.m.
*Singles Final: Saturday 4 March at 9 p.m.
View On Official Website
The Total Financial Commitment for the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC is $2,178,980.
SINGLES
Winner: $376,620/500 points
Finalist: $202,640/300 points
Semi-finalist: $108,000/180 points
Quarter-finalist: $55,170/90 points
Second Round: $29,455/45 points
First Round: $15,710/0 points
DOUBLES (US Dollars; per team)
Winner: $123,710/500 points
Finalist: $65,980/300 points
Semi-finalist: $33,380/180 points
Quarter-finalist: $16,690/90 points
First Round: $8,640/0 points
View TV Schedule
How can I follow the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC?
Social
Hashtag: #CelebratingTennis30
Facebook: @Abierto Mexicano de Tenis
Twitter: @AbiertoTelcel
Instagram: abiertomexicanodetenis
Rafael Nadal won the 2022 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Cameron Norrie in the championship match. Feliciano Lopez and Stefanos Tsitsipas lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-5, 6-4 in the final.
Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: David Ferrer (4), Thomas Muster (4)
Oldest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 35, in 2022
Youngest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 18, in 2005
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in 2001
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 129 Juan Ignacio Chela in 2000
Last Home Champion: None
Most Match Wins: David Ferrer (32)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
After Rotterdam and Rio de Janeiro, the ATP 500 action continues in the 2023 season with Novak Djokovic, defending champion Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andy Murray competing in the field at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates:
The 2023 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will be held from 27 February – 4 March. The outdoor hard-court ATP 500 tournament, established in 1993, will take place at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The tournament director is Salah Tahlak.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will feature stars including World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, defending champion Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev and more.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships draw will be made Saturday, 25 February at 1 p.m.
*Qualifying: Saturday 25 February – Sunday 26 February at 11 a.m.
*Main Draw: Monday 27 February – Saturday 4 March.
*Monday-Wednesday sessions starting at 2 p.m.
*Thursday-Friday sessions starting at 3 p.m.
*Doubles Final: Saturday 4 March at 4:30 p.m.
*Singles Final: Saturday 4 March at 7 p.m.
View On Official Website
The Total Financial Commitment for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is $3,020,535.
SINGLES
Winner: $533,990/500 points
Finalist: $287,320/300 points
Semi-finalist: $153,125/180 points
Quarter-finalist: $78,235/90 points
Second Round: $41,765/45 points
First Round: $22,270/0 points
DOUBLES ($ per team)
Winner: $175,400/500 points
Finalist: $93,550/300 points
Semi-finalist: $47,340/180 points
Quarter-finalist: $23,660/90 points
First Round: $12,250/0 points
TV Schedule
How can I follow the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships?
Social
Hashtag: #DDFtennis
Facebook: @ddftennis
Twitter: @DDFTennis
Instagram: @ddftennis
Andrey Rublev won the 2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Jiri Vesely in the championship match. Tim Puetz and Michael Venus lifted the doubles trophy, defeating Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-3, 6-7(5), 16-14 in the final.
Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (8)
Most Titles, Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi (5)
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 37, in 2019
Youngest Champion: Rafael Nadal, 19, in 2006
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Roger Federer in 2004-05, 2007; No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2013, 2020; No. 1 Andy Murray in 2017
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 61 Jerome Golmard in 1999
Last Home Champion: None
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (53)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
Editor’s note: This article was translated from ATPTour.com/es.
Life after tennis is not something that worries Thomaz Bellucci, who played his last ATP Tour match on Wednesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. However, the clarity he now feels over his future is in stark contrast to the concern he felt at 16 and 17 years old, when he was close to an early retirement from the professional game. A left-knee injury sidelined him for almost a year and he was close to never coming back.
Back then, when he was a mere blip on the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, it took him six months to recover from surgery, followed by a long period of uncertainty. He started to read books on economy and thought about dedicating his time to his studies.
“I was in a lot of doubt,” Bellucci recalled to ATPTour.com. “I didn’t know if the best thing was to continue in tennis. I wanted to have fun doing other things.”
Any thoughts of another vocation clashed with two strong forces in his life: the love of a sport that he learned at the age of three, playing with his parents in Tiete, Sao Paulo; and the dream of becoming a professional tennis player. It was a dream that, incidentally, was born in the 90s as he watched his countryman Gustavo Kuerten, former World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“When ‘Guga’ won Roland Garros in 1997, I was just a boy. I was nine years old,” Bellucci said. “When I saw him on television, I said, ‘If he can do it, as a Brazilian, I think someday I can be at the big tournaments too’. ‘Guga’ made me think that getting there, although it seemed very difficult, was more of a possibility. He has helped convince a lot of us Brazilians that you can dream despite all the difficulties.”
His love for tennis and the dream inspired by ‘Guga’ would be hard to let go of at 17 when he was considering a life away from the sport.
“I didn’t want to have regrets in the future. I had to try a little more,” Bellucci said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to recover and go back and try again, but if in two years I haven’t played well, I’ll retire.’ That’s what I did, and at 19 I was already among the Top 200. I made a good choice. That moment taught me perseverance and to always be strong.”
His decision laid the foundations for a brilliant career. In 2010, as World No. 21, he became the second-highest ranked Brazilian man ever, only behind his hero Kuerten. Bellucci reached eight ATP Tour finals, winning four of them, all on clay: Gstaad (2009, 2012), Santiago (2010), and Geneva (2015). He also amassed 200 tour-level wins, two of which came against Top-5 opponents: World No. 4 Andy Murray in Madrid in 2011, and No. 5 Kei Nishikori in Rio in 2017.
“The best spell of my career was between 2010 and 2011. I played better in the big tournaments,” Bellucci said.
His best result in the Grand Slams was a fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros in 2010. The lefty also was a semi-finalist at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid in 2011. “At that time I was thinking less, I had fewer worries, I was playing freely and I didn’t have so much pressure. Afterwards I started to think a little more, to doubt myself,” Bellucci said.
However, giving up was never an option, and he never hesitated to ask for help at the most difficult times of his career.
Thomaz Bellucci at the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, where he was a semi-finalist. Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images
“I was always accompanied by psychologists who helped me improve my decision making on and off the court,” Bellucci said. “It wasn’t easy to find the balance between personal and professional in a sport like tennis. That’s why you see so many players with problems with depression, they’re not well even though they have money and results. To me, the main thing was looking after myself, being mentally healthy and being happy.”
He didn’t always manage it, though. “I often felt depressed. It happens to a lot of players because there is a lot of pressure and expectation,” Bellucci said. However, he always found the strength to overcome adversity and to face any criticism that came his way. “With time you realise that the most important thing is not what people think of you. There are people who won’t value you. The most important thing is not the approval of others, it’s being happy on court.”
Thomaz Bellucci hangs up his rackets with an impressive CV 🌟
– 200 career wins
– Career-high No.21 ranking
– 4 ATP titles (2009 Gstaad, 2010 Santiago, 2012 Gstaad, 2015 Geneva)
– 6 top 10 wins, including #4 Murray at 2011 Madrid
– One of just 5 players to bagel Djokovic on clay pic.twitter.com/4PXRGLLz94— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 22, 2023
His determination coloured his career as a tennis player. He gave his all to continue playing, but multiple injuries have gradually pulled him away from competition over the last three years. Two new issues early in 2023 confirmed that it was time for him to hang up his racket. The end of the road came on Wednesday, in front of his home fans, when he lost to Sebastian Baez in the first round of one of his favourite tournaments.
“It’s the right time,” Bellucci said, not without a hint of nostalgia in his voice, but also with the peace of mind of someone who is ending a chapter of their life having given their all. “I feel happy and a little bit sad too. Tennis was in my life for many years, it’s not easy to stop playing. But I’ve enjoyed myself so much, and my body is now feeling the years and the sacrifices I’ve made. It’s time to do something else, experience new things.”
Bellucci has no doubt that he wants to stay in the world of tennis, perhaps as a coach. “I want to try and pass on my experience, develop players, have a place here in Brazil to teach. I think I have a lot of things to show the kids,” Bellucci said. “It’s a beautiful time of transition, of change in my life.”
