Home favourite Thomaz Bellucci received a standing ovation after dismissing Rio Open presented by Claro top seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. Nishikori reached the Argentina Open final last week and won their only previous meeting on the clay at the 2015 Roland Garros in straight sets, but the top-ranked Brazilian put in a commanding display to defeat the World No. 5. "Actually everything didn’t work well," said Nishikori. "Probably the condition changed a lot from last week: bounce really high and the balls are really heavy. The ball is the most difficult to adjust. I couldn’t feel anything today. I think it wasn’t my day." Bellucci, quarter-finalist in 2014, earned a second-round encounter with countryman Thiago Monteiro. The...
Watch Tuesday highlights of how Thomaz Bellucci got the better of Kei Nishikori at the Rio Open presented by Claro, plus Alexandr Dolgopolov versus David Ferrer. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Joao Pires/Fotojump
Watch Gastao Elias execute a controlled and pin-point accurate winner past Thiago Monteiro on Tuesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Joao Pires/Fotojump
Watch Monday highlights from the Rio Open presented by Claro, featuring Pablo Cuevas, Arthur De Greef, Christian Ruud, Roberto Carballes Baena and Joao Sousa. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com. Photo: Joao Pires/Fotojump
Belgian qualifier Arthur De Greef claimed his "biggest win" on Monday at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The 24-year-old prevailed against defending champion and No. 3 seed Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, claiming the only break of the 65-minute third set in a memorable final game. "It was unbelievable," said De Greef following his third tour-level match win. "I played from the start till the end a very good match. It was unbelievable with the crowd who was going crazy. We did a few unbelievable points. I enjoyed a lot." De Greef, who reached a career-high No. 129 Emirates ATP Rankings in January, goes on to play Argentine Nicolas Kicker, a 7-5, 6-0 winner over fellow qualifier Marco Cecchinato....
