[shotgun]

Thiago deserves a thread of his own, don't know how many people will post here, but what the hell...

He has just won his fourth career challenger title in Manta, Ecuador, and is currently ranked at 122, with great possibilities of finishing the year in the top 100. He had a good career as a junior but in 2003, when he was climbing up the rankings, he had a severe shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for 12 months. He then came back in mid 2004 without an ATP ranking and had to start over winning futures, then in 2005 he made the transition to challenger level winning two titles in Ecuador. This year he won the title in Belo Horizonte as well.

And he supports Sao Paulo FC which is a good thing.

For basic info visit his ATP profile page here. http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/player...yernumber=A410

[PoderShileno]

[shotgun]

Thiago defeated Paolo Lorenzi in the third round of the US Open qualies and got into his first Grand Slam main draw!

He has won 13 out of his last 14 matches.

[Jelena]

Parabens Thiago!

[Lee]

WTC Thiago!

I have been following him since his return from shoulder injury. At first I though he might break into top 100 in 2005. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

May be his first appearance in USO will push his career to the next step.

And his first round match is a winnable one vs Zabaleta.

It's a tough one for me as Mariano is my favourite too

[Jelena]

Sorry Thiago, vs everybody else I would have cheered for you. But as Mariano is by far my #1 favorite, you'll have to live without my support today. Anyway I wish you a good match, and I promise you, in case you win against Mariano I will support you in the next rounds.

[shotgun]

Alves def. Zabaleta 6-2 7-5 6-7(5) 6-3

This result could put him in the top 100.

Sorry for the Zabaleta fans.

[Lee]

Thiago

I take it as a win-win situation for me: one of my fav advance instead of a lose-lose: one of my fav lost.

[shotgun]

Thiago lost to Verdasco, 7-6(3) 6-4 6-1

Managed to keep it close for the first two sets though. He needs more experience in these kind of matches.

Good run in the USO and hopefully he carries this form to the remainder of the season.

[shotgun]

Thiago advanced to the semis of the Belem challenger today by beating his countryman Andre Ghem 7-6(3) 7-5. The good news is that he's now the Brazilian no. 1, and most importantly, the newest Brazilian in the top 100.

[shotgun]

[jole]

Congrats to Thiago for his run of late. Very impressive!

Btw, it really is wild how often these Brazilians play each other in these South America challengers!

[Jelena]

Well, in most of these challengers (at least in Brazil) there are often most of the players Brazilians.

[shotgun]

Yes, there has been a big increase recently in the number of challengers played in Brazil, plus there are probably as many Brazilians at challenger level as Argentines.

And challengers in South America are a bit like challengers in Asia or Australia - players from other continents rarely come.

[jole]

Oh I know, I experience it in the US. Just interesting that there are so many challengers and challenger level Brazilians now.