Thursday was a dangerous day to be a seeded player at the Ecuador Open. Four seeds, including the only champion the tournament has ever had, all fell in a wild day of tennis in Quito. Three-time champion Victor Estrella Burgos was the first to fall. The Dominican had been 16-0 in Quito, by far his favourite place to play. But Estrella Burgos, who came back to beat Thomaz Bellucci on Monday, fell for the first time in the Ecuadorian capital, dropping his second-round match to Austrian Gerald Melzer 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Melzer saved three of four break points to improve to 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. [ALSO LIKE] “I want to congratulate my opponent, he played a good...
The numbers defy anyone's logic. In Quito, Victor Estrella Burgos has been unbeatable, literally. The 37-year-old has won all 16 of his matches at the Ecuador Open. That run includes three ATP World Tour titles – the only three of his career and every edition of the Ecuador Open (2015, 2016, 2017) – and his first-round victory on Monday, his fourth win against Thomaz Bellucci in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, all of which have come in Quito. Read More: King of Quito Estrella Burgos Survives Opener But outside of the Ecuadorian capital, Estrella Burgos has struggled to play up to his “King of Quito” label. The Dominican Republic native is 29-59 (.330) in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam...
Thomaz Bellucci attempted to beat Victor Estrella Burgos at the Ecuador Open in each of its first three editions (2015 SF, 2016 F, 2017 SF), but the Brazilian failed each time. Estrella Burgos would go on to win the Quito trophy all three years. But after winning the first set against the Dominican on Monday evening and losing just three points through his first four service games in the second set, would the fourth time be the charm for Bellucci? Not so fast. The three-time defending champion Estrella Burgos battled back to beat the Brazilian for the fourth time in Quito in four years 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 55 minutes to deny Bellucci his 200th tour-level victory. It...
Victor Estrella Burgos and Ernesto Escobedo hit at San Pedro de Pinta in downtown Monterrey, during the ATP Challenger Tour event. Video courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros.
In March 2014, Victor Estrella Burgos became the first player from the Dominican Republic to crack the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. One year later, he would become the island nation's first ATP World Tour champion, at the Ecuador Open. On Saturday, the Dominican brought the party back to Santo Domingo, becoming the first home grown winner at the $125,000 ATP Challenger Tour event. Estrella Burgos lifted the Milex Open trophy with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over top seed Damir Dzumhur in front of an exuberant and passionate crowd at the Santo Domingo Tenis Club. "It was a great tournament and I played at my best level the entire week," said Estrella Burgos. "Today, I felt a lot...
