Estoril Open News and Events

Frederico Gil

© JLS

The gutsy Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil gave World Nº1 & ATP World Tour Champion Rafael Nadal a run for his money on Monday as he forced the Spaniard to a tough 7-5, 6-3 victory to reach the fourth round of the second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis tournament of the season.

Nadal’s 23rd victory of the season was far from straightforward. The Spaniard had an early 3-1 advantage cut as Gil ralled to win three straight games and lead 4-3. Gil was just two points away from the set when he lead 15/30 on Nadal’s serve at 4-5, but the Mallorcan’s resilience told as he held serve before breaking in the 12th game and closing out a 7-5 first set.

Frederico Gil, who toppled No. 26 seed Ivo Karlovic in the second round, surprised the Stadium crowd as he etched out a 2-0 lead in the second set. However, Nadal hit back to win six of the next seven games to close out the qualifier's challenge after one hour and 35 minutes.

Everyone is in great anticipation to see if Gil can go the distance in his home tournament. At last year’s Estoril Open Gil’s path was only stopped by the World Nº1 at the time Roger Federer, in the quarter-finals.

Credits to: www.sonyericssonopen.com