A day full of tennis at the Millennium Estoril Open, this Monday. Four matches were played on the Stadium Millennium and three on the Cascais Court.

Stadium Millennium

The sun was shining brightly on this first day of the main draw in Estoril. Tommy Robredo and Evgeny Donskoy were the first players to hit the court. In a match between a former world top-5 and the man who took down Roger Federer in Dubai earlier this year, everyone was expecting a tighter battle. The Spanish player, Robredo, was able to get through to the second round as he defeated Donskoy by the score of 6-3 6-2, in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Later on the day, it was time for Gastão Elias to face Malek Jaziri. The Portuguese player defeated the Tunisian in three tight sets 6-4 3-6 6-3. Jaziri had a 3-1 lead in the first set but Gastão was able to win 6 of the next 7 games. The second and the third set were exactly the same in the number of games but with a different winner. Malek Jaziri broke Elias serve at 2-1 and then both held their serves until the end of the set. On the third set, Gastão broke his opponent serve at 2-1 and then they both held too. The match lasted 2 hours and 16 minutes. 

The third match of the day was the biggest surprise of the tournament's first day. Frederico Ferreira Silva, world number 426, defeated Denis Istomin, the responsible for Novak Djokovic's defeat at the Australian Open this year. The Portuguese wild card dispatched the top-100 player in 1 hour and 10 minutes by the score of 6-2 6-2. This is his first ATP main draw win and also his first win over a top-100 player.

Nicolas Almagro and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez teamed up to defeat João Sousa and Kyle Edmund in a very tight three set match. The Spaniard double won the match on the match tie-break. They got the win by the score of 6-7(1) 7-6(8) 13-11.

Nicolas Almagro and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez playing their doubles match against João Sousa and Kyle Edmund. (Photo by: Millennium Estoril Open)
Nicolas Almagro and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez playing their doubles match against João Sousa and Kyle Edmund. (Photo by: Millennium Estoril Open)

Court Cascais

Doubles draw first seeds, Sam Groth and Robert Lindstedt lost to Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus. The American team was superior and won 6-3 5-7 10-4.

The second doubles match of the day was between Carlos Berlocq/Sergio Galdos and Ernesto Escobedo/Fabricio Neis. Berlocq/Galdo won 6-0 7-6(6).

To finish the action on Court Cascais Kevin Anderson defeated the qualifier, Salvatore Caruso in a little bit more than an hour. The South-African won 6-2 6-3.

Kevin Anderson playing his first round match at the Millennium Estoril Open. (Photo by Millennium Estoril Open)
Kevin Anderson playing his first round match at the Millennium Estoril Open. (Photo by Millennium Estoril Open)

Practice makes perfect

A lot of players practiced during the day at the Millennium Estoril Open. Denis Istomin was one of them. He practiced with Evgeny Donskoy.

Denis Istomin improving his service skills. (Pedro Cunha / VAVEL USA)
Denis Istomin improving his service skills. (Pedro Cunha / VAVEL USA)

As Istomin, also Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet booked a court for practice purposes.

Juan Marin del Potro and Richard Gasquet hitting some balls during a practice. (PEdro Cunha / VAVEL USA)
Juan Marin del Potro and Richard Gasquet hitting some balls during a practice. (PEdro Cunha / VAVEL USA)

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About the author
Pedro Cunha
I am from Portugal. I discovered tennis when I was nine years old and since then that I´m in love with this sport. The smell of the balls and the orange dust, of the clay where I practice, on my shorts and sneakers make my life better.