Fernando González loses, postpones his ascent to the top ten

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SANTIAGO.- Getting through the third round of the ATP tournament in Beijing was challenging enough, and yesterday he faced yet another tricky feat against Japanese player Go Soeda, but he turned the situation to his favor and advanced.

Today he had an attractive opportunity to vindicate himself and get into the semifinals of the event that he won last year. And of course, triumph would have ensured him a return to the top ten.

Unfortunately, these efforts seem to have been wasted today as the Chilean player was defeated in the fourth round of the final match against German Bjorn Phau (no. 137) in three sets, with partial scores of 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3 in 49 minutes of game play.

The exhaustion, jet lag and change of surface (González was previously playing on the clay courts of Antofogasta), seem to have caught up with the top national player who has now lost his chance to defend his title on the courts of China, as well as his current shot at rising to the top ten. If he had defended his title, he would now be number 9 in the world.