Bellucci Blazes

I don't know how this happened without my noticing, but would you look at that: another one of my Stars has gone and won a title! Told you they'd be good (if only Ernests Gulbis would listen...)

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This particular Star is Thomaz Bellucci, who first caught my attention when he played Rafa Nadal pretty tight in the first round of Roland Garros last year. He's a claycourter by nature, but he's done all right on other surfaces as well. I think the reason I've been basically ignoring him this week is that he's playing on AlternaTour, where you can basically play on clay for eleven straight months, but a title is a title, even if it is in Gstaad on the red stuff.

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He's obviously been playing some good stuff all week and he overcame a pretty good current player, Andreas Beck, in the final to lift his maiden trophy. Am oddly proud, even though I obviously have nothing to do with career - he's proving me right in my picks for future Stars. He's maybe not in my first tier of Stars with Cilic and (glup) Gulbis, who I really believe will be top ten, but Bellucci is going to be round for a long time, making things tough on clay (and occasionally other surfaces) for a while yet.

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What I would like to see him do now is stop playing on AlternaTour and start playing more on other surfaces to become more well-rounded. He certainly doesn't suck on other surfaces, but I am morally opposed to AlternaTour. Tennis should follow the Slams, in my humble and ill-educated opinion. For a tennis player's career as a whole, I don't think it's really good to be playing on the one surface for so long.

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But enough dire career warning. Well done, Thomaz Bellucci, Star of the Future, on your maiden title!

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Today's Results

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Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad (Gstaad)

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Thomaz Bellucci def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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ATP Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3 6-0

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Marion Bartoli def. Samantha Stosur, 6-3 1-6 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Venus Williams, 6-2 5-7 6-4

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Istanbul Cup (Istanbul)

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Vera Dushevina def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-0 6-1