Movistar Open

Souza Reaches SF In ATP Debut; Gonzalez Wins Thriller

Santiago, Chile

Gonzalez led 6-1 in the second-set tie-break only to see the unseeded Granollers claw his way back to hold set points of his own. But the home crowd spurred the 2004 Olympic gold medalist to victory, setting up a semi-final showdown with No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci.

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Earlier, Brazilian qualifier Joao Souza was the first to advance, and in doing so reaches the semi-finals of his first-ever ATP-level event. His defeat of Spain's Alberto Martin, 6-2, 6-4, in one hour, 11 minutes, saw the 21-year-old Rio de Janeiro resident serve five aces (to none from Martin) and win 73 per cent of points on his first serve (Martin: 48 per cent).

Interestingly, Souza had been awarded a wild card into next week's Brasil Open at Costa do Sauipe - which would have been his ATP-level debut - but he'll no longer need it as he receives exemption for reaching the Santiago semis.

"I didn't expect to reach the semi-finals in my first-ever ATP event," said Souza, whose childhood idol was compatriot Gustavo Kuerten. "I arrived in Santiago in the morning of my first qualifying match. During my first match against Diego Junqueira I was down a set but kept fighting. I gained confidence in each match I played this week and here I am in the semi-finals.

"It feels amazing to have gone this far in an ATP event but I still think I have a chance to go even further."

To progress further Souza will need to defeat No. 2-seeded Argentinian Juan Monaco, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Australian Peter Luczak. Monaco was runner-up at the Movistar Open in 2008 to Fernando Gonzalez and is making his fifth appearance in this event.

No. 3 seed Bellucci defeated Argentina's Eduardo Schwank, 6-4, 6-4, meaning for only the second time since the 2004 Movistar Open (held in Viña del Mar, Chile) there are two Brazilians in the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour event.

Bellucci didn't face a break point the entire match, getting 78 per cent of his first serves in, and winning an impressive 85 per cent of those points.

"I think I played better than yesterday," said Bellucci, who defeated Paul Capdeville in the second round, 7-5 in the third set. "I made less errors and was consistent from beginning to end.

"It's great that two Brazilians are in the semi-finals and I wouldn’t be surprised if we face each other in the final. We will have tough matches but I think we could win."