Snakes and Ladders: Gonzalez slips at home
Fernando Gonzalez
Featured
Fan favourite Fed picks up three gongs in a day
After matching his 62 titles with as many winners to dispatch Victor Hanescu in Indian Wells, Federer was honoured post-match with a trio of awards
Latest Category Articles
The dust may have settled after the first Grand Slam of the year, but in spite of a week of ATP Tour 250 tournaments in Johannesburg, Zagreb, and Santiago, the only movement in the world’s top 26 has come from the two Fernando’s – Gonzalez and Verdasco.
After failing to defend the Movistar Open in his home city of Santiago, Gonzalez has been replaced at No.11 by Verdasco, who hops a place in the rankings despite having not played a match since his fourth round exit to Nikolay Davydenko at the Australian Open.
In Chile, 29-year-old Gonzalez was defeated at the semi-final stage in three sets by eventual champion Thomaz Bellucci, who became the first Brazilian to lift the Movistar Open since Gustavo Kuerten in 2000.
“It was a great week. I won some tough matches and I’m happy to win my second ATP title.” – Bellucci
The 22-year-old rises seven places up the rankings to a career high of No.28, but played down any comparisons between himself and the three-time French Open champion.
“It’s a coincidence that Guga (Kuerten) won the title the last time the tournament was played in Santiago,” Bellucci said.
“Guga was No. 1 in the world and I’m only starting to play in the bigger events now.
Bellucci was delighted to add another clay court title to his first ATP triumph in Switzerland last July, adding;
“It was a great week. I won some tough matches and I’m happy to win my second ATP title.”
In Johannesburg, Feliciano Lopez clinched his first title in over five years with a straight sets victory over Frenchman Stephane Robert to hop six places to No.33.
But the big mover in the top 100 comes in the form of the Spaniard’s defeated opponent Robert, whose run to the final saw him leap 33 places to a career high of No.67.
More comfortable on clay, Robert surprised World No.18 David Ferrer on the hard courts of South Africa with a 7-5, 6-4 victory to make the final, before succumbing to a relatively straightforward defeat from Lopez.
In Zagreb, Marin Cilic continued his excellent start to the year on home soil to defend his recently acquired No.10 ranking. The Croat, managed to repeat his 2009 title win by fighting off a spirited performance from German Michael Berrer, who rises three places to No.62.
Cilic is fast becoming the man to beat on the tour. The Zagreb Indoors title is his fifth ATP tour title – and his second of the year – having already defended his Chennai Open title early in January prior to his career best Slam run in Melbourne.
