Ecuador Open Quito, Quito, Ecuador ATP 250

[Moxie]

Great job Victor!!

Was Feliciano just tired or did he injure himself? Hopefully nothing bad.

It watched a little of it, and I think he was seen by a trainer. Possible injury issue. Hopefully just being guarded.

 

[Billie]

It watched a little of it, and I think he was seen by a trainer. Possible injury issue. Hopefully just being guarded.

Thanks Moxie. Hopefully it's nothing. These guys were in Australia just a week or so ago. It is really tough on them to adjust in such a short period of time.

 

[herios]

These players, especially the veterans like Feli Lopez should pace themselves better. Does he really needs to play week in and week out?

 

[britbox]

Semi Finals:

Tomaz Bellucci bt Paulo Lorenzi 3-6 6-2 6-3

Victor Estrella Burgos bt Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 7-6

Victor is enjoying himself again in Quito, having won last year's final.

 

[britbox]

Ecuador Open Final, Quito

Victor Estrella Burgos v Tomaz Bellucci

Head to Head: Burgos leads 2-0

2015 Quito SF Clay Victor Estrella Burgos Thomaz Bellucci 7-6(5) 7-5
2013 Bogota Challenger F Clay Victor Estrella Burgos Thomaz Bellucci 6-2 3-0 Ret'd

Estrella Burgos - defending his title in Quito

Tomaz Bellucci - hoping for a reversal of last years semi-final where he went down to Estrella Burgos.

Further Reading:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/bellucci-into-2016-quito-final

I think Victor repeats and claims a second consecutive Quito title.

 

[Moxie]

Hard not to root for Estrella-Burgos, so I'm with Billie on this one.

 

[Billie]

Come on Victor....rooting for 2 tomorrow.

Bellucci can sometimes play awesome and fearsome tennis though, so it will be tough match.

 

[herios]

I am with ladies, Vamos Victor!

 

[Moxie]

Let's face it...he's a late-career Cinderella story from the Dominican Republic, which has no tennis history to speak of. Who wouldn't root for him, except for Mrzz, who's Brazilian?

 

[Billie]

And he did it!!! Congratulations to Victor Estrella Burgos on winning the title.

From ATP website:

Victor Estrella Burgos joined a select club with a comeback win in Quito on Sunday.

The Dominican, who captured his first ATP World Tour title at age 34 last year, successfully defended his Ecuador Open Quito title with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 final win against Thomaz Bellucci. He joined Stan Wawrinka (Chennai), Viktor Troicki (Sydney), Novak Djokovic (Australian Open) and Richard Gasquet (Montpellier) in successfully defending their titles this year. He and Wawrinka are the only players 30 or over to accomplish the feat.

Over the years, Estrella Burgos has experienced highs and lows in the Ecuadorian city. An injury sustained at the 2012 Quito Challenger had the tenacious baseliner pondering retirement. In 2015, he made history by becoming the first Dominican to win an ATP World Tour title.

“I can’t describe the feeling when I saw the last ball go out," Estrella Burgos said. "It was an unbelievable moment, to win back-to-back in Quito. Last year I was very nervous. I could barely breathe serving on match point. This year I was much more relaxed closing out the match.”

After the trophy ceremony, a jubilant Estrella Burgos rode a slide into the pool at Club Jacaranda. He was followed by the ballboys, who jumped into the water to join the two-time champion.

“The conditions were difficult," Estrella Burgos said. "It was sunny and so windy. It was impossible to return [Bellucci’s] serve in the first set.”

The third-seeded Bellucci took the initiative in the first set, stretching Estrella Burgos with heavy left-handed serves and keeping rallies short with penetrating ground strokes. The Brazilian jumped on his first break opportunity to move ahead 5-4. In the following game, Estrella Burgos saved set point with an inside-out forehand winner, but found himself trailing when Bellucci wrong-footed him two points later to claim the set in 29 minutes.

In the second set, the eventual winner found success by slicing forehand returns and extending the baseline exchanges. Bellucci, who did not face break point in the first two sets, maintained his dominance on serve by targeting the Dominican’s backhand. In the tie-break, Bellucci led early, but missed a short forehand at 3/2 to give his opponent a lifeline. Estrella Burgos made the most of this chance, evening the match with a service winner.

The defending champion rode the momentum shift and broke in the opening game of the deciding set, sealing the win in just over two hours.

“It was a difficult day,” Bellucci said. “The wind did not allow me to maintain a good level. I was dominating and I had options to win the match, but I wasted them. In the third set, I lost my rhythm on serve and he raised his level. I’m happy to have reached the final, but sad because I could have won.”

Estrella Burgos improved to 10-0 in Quito and maintained his perfect record in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Bellucci (2-0 at tour-level, 1-0 on the ATP Challenger Tour). Both of his ATP World Tour final appearance have come at the Ecuador Open Quito. He earned 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $82,450, while Bellucci received 150 points and $43,430.

 

[herios]

Very nice by Victor, yay!

 

[britbox]

Nice win for Victor, retaining his title.