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4/20/10 6:08 PM | Ricky Dimon
Simone Bolelli wins his first ATP main-draw match of the season on Tuesday in Barcelona when Tommy Robredo retires in the third set. Next up for Bolelli is either Alberto Martin or Mikhail Kukushkin.
Eight months after his last win in the main draw of an ATP Tournament, Simone Bolelli was back in the winner's circle on Tuesday.
Bolelli advanced to the second round of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell when Tommy Robredo retired with an apparent lower back injury midway through the third set. With Bolelli leading 6-7(7), 6-4, 3-1, Robredo called it quits after two hours and 11 minutes of play.
For a while, however, Robredo appeared to be unscathed and in it for the long haul. The 20th-ranked Spaniard surrendered his serve twice in a competitive first set, but he earned two breaks of his own to force a tiebreaker. Clearly more accustomed to winning tough matches than his opponent, Robredo outlasted Bolelli 9-7 in the decider.
Bolelli, however, refused to go down without a fight. Down at No. 143 in the world as a result for his dismal slump, the Italian earned the first break of set two at 3-3. He consolidated it easily for 5-3, then survived a grueling service game at 5-4 to force a third frame of play.
Visibly hampered at the end of the second despite having plenty of opportunities to break back, Robredo called a medical timeout prior to the third. Barcelona's No. 9 seed came back and managed to hold for 1-0, but Bolelli held serve easily and the broke for 2-1 to cripple the favorite's chances. After Bolelli held again for 3-1, Robredo could not continue.
Bolelli, whose most recent ATP main-draw wins came last August in New Haven (reached the third round), finished with five aces and one double-fault while converting four of seven break chances. He will face either a wild card (Alberto Martin) or lucky loser (Mikhail Kukushkin) on Wednesday.
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