Rio de Janeiro, Feb 17 (IANS): Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci squandered a lead to lose to Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round of the ATP Rio Open.
In a rain interrupted game on Tuesday, Bellucci, ranked 32nd in the world, won the first set 7-6, before his European opponent turned it around 7-5, 6-2, reports Xinhua.
The third set was particularly disappointing for the Brazilian who, after opening with a two-game advantage, lost six games in a row for a premature exit.
Meanwhile, defending champion David Ferrer got off to a winning start by defeating Chilean Nicolas Jarry. The Spaniard will meet compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last 16.
There were two surprises in the first round, with the American pair of John Isner and Jack Sock falling at the first hurdle.
Italian Fabio Fognini comfortably saw off Brit Aljaz Bedene to make it through to the next round.