What they got… Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral won the Estoril Open on Sunday and made history in Portuguese tennis, with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa watching, before congratulating them and predicting a brilliant global future as a couple. Old friends, who have known each other for less than 10 years, ended the “best week” of their lives by listening to the national anthem in the voice of Katia Guerrero, while receiving the trophy without succumbing to emotion.
“I was amazed at what was going on. They sang the national anthem for us, cup in hand, they looked around and saw the stadium full, my family, my friends. Everything was a little heavy, that’s the right word.” , Francisco Cabral admitted, after his friend said they were still “absorbing” the moment. “Without a doubt, being able to win here is the pinnacle of Portuguese tennis. It’s hard to say more, it means a lot to both of us to be able to win here in Estoril, in front of the crowd,” Nuno Borges defined as the best Portuguese in singles after reaching the second floor.
They are the third 100% Portuguese duo to win the ATP Championship. Both were born in 1997 – Nuno in Maya and Francesco in Porto – the year Joao Cuna e Silva and Nuno Marquez won the Casablanca tournament, after Emmanuel Cotto and Bernardo Motta were the first to win a championship, in pairs, in Maya (1996). It’s been 25 years (both) that no Portuguese duo has lifted a trophy of this magnitude. They will get 81 thousand euros for it.
I entered the event as wild card. Won eight titles Challengers In the past 12 months – two of them this year – it has seen the organization reward that performance in smaller tournaments with an invitation to the Estoril Open. They weren’t questioned and enjoyed every second of it Tennis CourtAnd With a total of 30 wins in the last 31 games.
They started by beating Van Dodig/Austin Krajesek (6-4, 3-6, 10-5), then eliminating Nathaniel Lamons/Tommy Paul (6-3, 7-6, 10-6) and Jimmy Murray/Michael Venus (6-3). 2 and 6-4). In the final, it was Borges (he was 127th in the classification World Doubles Championship ahead of the tournament and will rise to 99th) Cabral (who rises from 106th to 80th) took an hour and three minutes to defeat Maximo Gonzalez (32) and Andre Gorançon (71)), in two. groupsin parts 6-2 and 6-3.
Marcelo bought a ticket and showed up
For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral were “perfect” and provided “a very beautiful moment for Portugal”. The President of the Republic in the Estoril Tennis Club was expected to witness the doubles final, but in time for the final, a place in the VIP Tribune has not yet been taken. As usual, Marcelo bought a ticket and went to the crowd in the stands until he was discovered to help the organization and the security forces.
In the end, he said he was “very” proud of the northern duo: “Starting from scratch, getting to victory, as they clearly did… It was clear victories and victories, and it wasn’t so brilliant. He wasn’t in a third game. It’s very rare that This happens. If they keep playing together, they can have a great future around the world.”
Even before Borges and Cabral visited, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza said he hoped “to find them more dressed than Joao Sousa,” who found him with a towel in 2018 “on the way from the bathroom” and wished they would always continue to play in pairs, “because they can go so far.” and “to be one of the best couples in the world”. Words he repeated to himself at the entrance to the dressing room: “You can be the best in the world, you have all the conditions. You have the conditions to be the top of the world, because you complement each other very well. You have wonderful intuition for couples. You are amazing. Pride of Portugal.”
The president also compared them to Australians Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodford, who dominated the pairs team during the 1990s, winning 61 titles, 11 of them Big bangs. They didn’t know who they were… after all before they were born. But, “If they’re good, we can take it as a great compliment and hopefully live up to that,” he shot Francisco Cabral.
Baez is the champion of 2022. Carlos Alcaraz is called up to 2023
Why not me? (Why not me?), Sebastian Baez wondered, after Joao Sousa was eliminated in the first round, revealing his desire to win the Estoril Open… -3, 6-2, who has a bracelet with the same inspiring logo as the 21-year-old Argentine general.
The current 59th place in the ATP rankings thus won his first ATP title. To reach the final and be crowned the new champion, Baez eliminated three champions (Joao Sousa, 2018; Richard Gasquet, 2015, and Albert Ramos Vinolas, 2002), in addition to Marin Cilic (2014 US Open champion).
At the conclusion of the event, the tournament director evaluated the Millennium Estoril Open, which transported 34,589 people to the Estoril Tennis Club in the nine days of the event – 3,396 of whom watched yesterday’s finals – after two years without an audience (in 2020 there was no tournament and in 2021 it was behind the doors of closed). Next year, another tennis player (in addition to Joao Sousa) is already invited: Carlos Alcaraz, the new 18-year-old Spanish tennis player, who this year won in Miami and Barcelona.
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