Estoril Open 2002 News and Events

April 10, 2002

Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was sent crashing out in the second round of the Estoril Open by Argentina's David Nalbandian.

Nalbandian saved three match points against the top seed before winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) to record his first victory over a Top 10 player and reach his third quarterfinal of the year (Auckland, Buenos Aires).

"This was the best win I've had against a top player," Nalbandian said. "I've beaten some good players, but this is my biggest victory. I had faith in winning today and that really helped me."

Nalbandian said his goal for the end of the year is to finish in the Top 30-40 in the rankings and this win really helped him feel good about his game. "This match really helped me gain more confidence in my game and hopefully I'll continue to play well."

The 19-year-old Nalbandian, a finalist on clay at Palermo in 2001, now meets No. 5 seed Sjeng Schalken for a place in the semifinals after the Dutch star defeated Dominik Hrbaty 7-5, 6-4.

Ferrero, the tournament's No. 1 seed and defending champion, said he knew playing Nalbandian was going to be a challenge. "I knew playing him was going to be difficult, because he had been playing well lately," Ferrero said. "His play was solid and I made some mistakes. My serving was not too good today."

Ferrero had returned to the court this week following a nagging injury to his left foot and said his foot did not give him any problems in either of his first two matches. He said plans to head back home to Villena, Spain for a couple of days and prepare for next week's Tennis Masters Series Monte Carlo.

Elsewhere on day three, Radek Stepanek won the battle of the qualifiers after he came through 6-1, 7-6(7) against Juan Antonio Marin to reach the quarterfinal stage, while No. 2 seed Marat Safin finished his delayed first round match with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over lucky loser David Ferrer, who was playing in his first ever ATP tournament.

Safin was leading 3-1 in the final set on Tuesday when play was suspended due to darkness. He now will meet Adrian Voinea for a place in the quarterfinals. Galo Blanco also progressed to the second round with a straight-sets win against fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin and now takes on Jarkko Nieminen.

In the day's final singles match, Argentina's Guillermo Coria retired from his match with Fernando Meligeni in the third set with cramps, handing the Brazilian the 5-7, 6-3, 4-4 win.

SANEX WTA TOUR

Safina Shining Under Spotlight

Dinara Safina advanced to the third round at the Estoril Open on Wednesday, moving one round further in her young career.

The 15-year-old Russian, playing on center court, defeated Miriam Oremans of The Netherlands, 6-1, 7-6(5).

Safina, playing this week as a wild card, began the tournament by upsetting No. 3 seed Martina Sucha in the first round and didn't slow down against Oremans.

Safina has quickly developed into one of the top young prospects on the women's circuit. She has increased her ITF junior ranking to No. 12 in the world and was the runner-up in girls' doubles at last year's Roland Garros.

Wednesday was a good day overall for Safina's family. Safina's older brother, ATP player Marat Safin, followed his sister onto center court and finished his match that was stopped on Tuesday due to darkness. Safin defeated David Ferrer 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

Russian Elena Bovina moved one step closer to her second straight Estoril final, defeating Barbara Schwartz, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5). Bovina was down 5-4 in the third set before managing to hold onto her serve and eventually force a tiebreak.

No. 4 seed Magui Serna of Spain advanced to the tournament's final eight by defeating Ludmila Cervanova 6-3, 6-2. No. 5 seed Tina Pisnik was also a winner, beating Adriana Gersi, 6-4, 6-2.

For the second straight tournament, Maja Matevzic has advanced to the third round. Matevzic dismantled No. 6 Petra Mandula, 6-4, 6-1. Last week, Matevzic advanced to the semifinals in Porto before falling to eventual winner Angeles Montolio.