Estoril Open 2004 News and Events

Ana Nogueira
© João Lagos Sports

The qualifying competitions at the Estoril Open began on Saturday, with the top seeds in the men's and women's draws both progressing to the second round.

Tomas Berdych and Silvija Talaja both recorded straight sets victories to keep their hopes of a main draw appearance alive.

Florian Mayer, the No. 2 seed in the men's draw, overcame Gorka Fraile of Spain 6-1, 6-3, but third seed Tomas Zib went out at the hands of Vasilis Mazarakis of Greece.

There were also wins for Jan Hernych and German veteran Mark-Kevin Goellner, who defeated Portugal's Diogo Schaeffer 6-0, 6-2.

Five Portuguese players made it through to the second round of the men's qualifying competition, with four of those defeating fellow countrymen in the process. Jorge Laranjeiro, Tiago Godinho, Frederico Marques, Joao Fernandes and Vasco Antunes all won their opening matches, but the Portuguese women were less successful, with only wild card Ana Nogueira moving through to the second round.

Elsewhere in women's qualifying, last year's Estoril Open runner-up Julia Schruff began her campaign with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Nuria Llagostera Vives, while second seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld recovered from the loss of the first set to defeat Britain's Anne Keothavong 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Tavares Given Wild Card

Portugal's Leonardo Tavares has been given a wild card by tournament organizers. Tavares, the 20-year-old national champion, will be making his first appearance in the main draw in Estoril.

Tavares, who will be looking to record his first career ATP victory (0-5), reached the semifinals of the Portugal 3 Futures tournament last month in Lagos.