Alex Bogomolov Jr.
By Curt Janka
LOS ANGELES, California – American veteran Alex Bogomolov Jr. came back to upset Brazilian powerhouse Thomaz Bellucci 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the Farmers Classic tournament. In a topsy-turvy affair, Bellucci came out scorching winners passed an overwhelmed Bogomolov. By the beginning of the second set, Bogomolov began mixing up his pace but labored to chase down his opponent’s shots. At the end of the second set Bogomolov was out of dry shirts, but settled into grinding out the long points.
A medical timeout for Bogomolov seemed to breathe belief into the American. Gradually the scurrying defense of Bogomolov drew errors from Belluci. In the third set Bellucci seemed to second-guess his strokes as Bogomolov ran away with the match. Literally. With tremendous foot speed, Bogomolov managed to track and diffuse bomb after bomb until Bellucci conceded an error.
The win earns Bogomolov his first ATP World Tour semifinal after losing his previous 5 quarterfinal appearances. He will play the winner of the match between Juan Martin Del Potro and Ernests Gulbis on Saturday.
Curt Janka is covering the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles this week. Follow his updates on twitter at @GVTennisNews. Follow his personal twitter @CurtJanka.