Simone Bolelli, who beat Tomas Berdych last week in St. Petersburg before losing in the quarter-finals against Joao Sousa, started his campaign in the ATP 250 in Shenzhen with a 6-2 7-6 (7-2) win over Andreas Haider Maurer from Austria setting up a second round match against Victor Etrella Burgos. Bolelli saved four break points in the second and in the fourth games before breaking serve in the fifth game for 3-2. The Italian player got a double break in the seventh game to love and held his serve in the net game for 6-2.
In the second set Bolelli failed to convert on two break points in the fifth game. Haider Maurer broke serve at deuce in the sixth game for 4-2. Bolelli broke straight back in the next game with two inside-out forehands. The set went on serve until the tie-break, where both players held on serve in the first four points until 2-2 before Bolelli won the next five points for 7-2.
Bolelli’s next rival will be Victor Estrella Burgos who rallied from a set down to edge past Matthew Ebden from Australia by 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Ebden went up a break with a 4-2 in the third set but Estrella Burgos bounced back by reeling off four consecutive games South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung, runner-up in the Wimbledon Junior final in 2013, cruised to the second round with a 6-1 6-0 win over Di Wu after converting five of his six break point chances.
Chung will face Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene who beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-4 6-4. Jiri Vezely beat home favourite Ze Zhang 6-3 6-2. Adrian Mannarino won the all-French clash against Lukas Pouille with 6-0 6-3 Lukas Rosol beat Denis Istomin 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 setting up a second round match against Guillrmo Garcia Lopez.
Diego Sampaolo
