AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP)—Thomaz Bellucci recovered from a mid-match slump to beat American qualifier Michael Russell 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in the first round of the Heineken Open tennis tournament.
Bellucci, ranked 31 and the No. 7 seed, led 6-4, 5-3 before wavering, dropping the second set and falling behind 3-0 in the third in a hard-hitting duel with the 103-ranked Russell.
The 32-year-old American won seven straight games to capture the second set in a tiebreaker and to lead by two service breaks in the third.
Bellucci had made 32 unforced errors by the third game of the final set but he then lifted his game, relying on his swinging left-handed serve which had been strong in the first set and at the start of the second.
The Brazilian broke Russell in the fourth game of the deciding set and again two games later to level the set at 3-3. He then gained the vital break in the 12th and final game but needed three match points to close out the match in 2 hours, 50 minutes.
Both players contended with bad line calls on crucial points, Bellucci on his first match point and Russell on break point in the sixth game of the deciding set.
“It was a tough match,” said Bellucci, who now faces former Tommy Robredo of Spain in the second round. “I was 3-0 down in the last set so I’m just very happy to be there in the second round.”
French qualifier Adrian Mannarino, playing his eighth match of the past two weeks, beat fifth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.
Mannarino lost to American Mardy Fish in the first round at last week’s Brisbane International after winning three matches in qualifying to reach the main draw. He narrowly missed the main draw in Auckland and was forced to play through three more qualifying matches to earn his place opposite Monaco on Tuesday.
Match play may have been an advantage to the 22-year-old Frenchman who looked sharper than Monaco, who was playing his first match of the year.
“I felt I played really good today, even if the level of the match wasn’t so good because of the conditions,” Mannarino said. “There was a lot of wind so some strange points. I tried to go with the conditions and it worked for me.”
Mannarino will now play his compatriot and mentor Arnaud Clement, who beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a 2- 1/2 hour match which he clinched on his fourth match point.
Sixth-seeded David Nalbandian beat Italy’s Fabian Fognini 7-6 (6), 6-4 in his first match of 2011. Ranked 27, Nalbandian was sidelined for two months in 2010 with a hamstring injury but returned to win his 11th title in Washington in August and had a strong finish to the year.
“Last year I finished playing very good and I’m happy to start again on the right note,” he said. “Today was the first match of the year, I think it was a normal mistakes at the beginning, but in the end it was much better.”
Nalbandian’s second round opponent will be Germany’s Philipp Petzschner who beat Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).
Romanian Victor Hanescu beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 6-4 and will play second-seeded Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday.