Much of the media coverage in the local press here in Estoril has focused on Gastao Elias realising a “dream from childhood” and being ranked in the top 100 for the first time. He was accorded a raucous greeting as he was announced on Estadio Millennium and even the President of the country turned up. Unfortunately, Paul-Henri Mathieu did not turn up just to be a stooge in Portuguese celebrations. He convincingly beat the newly minted member of the 100 club 6-3 6-4. In the first set Mathieu jumped out to a double break lead an early lead and although Elias managed to break back Mathieu served it out. Similarly in the second set, Mathieu broke early only for Elias, to the delight of the packed crowd, to break back for 4-4. Unfortunately for the Estoril faithful, Mathieu broke again immediately and served out the match to love. It will be for Joao Sousa to carry home hopes now.
Mathieu goes on to face countryman and top seed Gilles Simon. Mathieu leads the head to head 3-1 although they have not played a completed match since 2008.
The day’s last singles match featured Paolo Lorenzi of Italy and Elias Ymer of Sweden, who are at different ends of their tennis career. It was the veteran Lorenzi who dominated and despite being broken serving for the first set was able to win it in the subsequent tie break. Similarly Lorenzi went up a break early in the second and although he was broken back he closed out the match 7-6 6-3.
In other matches, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the fifth seed defeated Michael Berrer of Germany 6-3 7-6 and will now face Stephane Robert of France. Rogerio Dutra Silva defeated Benjamin Becker 6-4 6-1 and Taro Daniel overcame qualifier Steven Diez in straight sets.
Inigo Cervantes and Daniel Munoz de la Nava were originally scheduled to play their match on Court Cascais, the second court here in Estoril. However, the court here is newly laid and following Kyle Edmund’s match with Daniel Gimeno-Traver it was decided not to play further on the court today. They ended up playing on court 6 in front of zero specators. Inigo Cervantes’s reward for beating Daniel Munoz de la Nava is a meeting with second seed Nick Kyrgios.
