The Algarve tennis player Inês Murta secured this Sunday, September 26, the first Portuguese victory in the 5th edition of the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open.
Currently ranked 724th in the WTA ranking, Inês Murta surprised Russian Ekaterina Shalimova (number 500 in the world and 10th seed) with partials of 6-2, 4-6 and 11-9 to advance to the second and last round of qualifying, in which he will face South Korean Yeon Woo Ku (831st), who eliminated number one national Francisca Jorge (375th WTA), by 6-7, 6-1 and 10-8.
The triumph of the 24-year-old Algarve was, in fact, the only one among the Portuguese tennis players who went to play on this first day of the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open, as Matilde Jorge, Elizabet Hamaliy, Sara Lança, Beatriz Neves, Madalena Amil and Milla Sequeira were defeated in the first round.
Simultaneously, the courts of the CIF (Club Internacional de Foot-Ball) hosted the first meetings of the fifth edition of the only Challenger tournament to be held in Lisbon, but the day was also difficult for the national delegation there.
Luís Faria (774th ATP) was the only one among the three Portuguese to win a set, still insufficient to stop the most highly rated Peter Heller (413th), with the German winning 6-1, 6-7 (5) and 6-4 after 2:26.
Henrique Rocha (1865th ATP and top 100 in the under-18 world) lost 6-4 and 6-2 to Benjamin Hassan (412th), while Diogo Morais (unranked) conceded by 6-0 and 6 -2 to Santiago Fa Rodriguez Taverna (409th).
This Monday, in addition to the conclusion of the qualifying matches, some first rounds of the main teams will be played, with emphasis on the 100% Portuguese duel between Gonçalo Oliveira and Pedro Araújo, as well as the debuts of Carolina Azadinho, Matilde Morais and Sofia Chick.
Organized by Unisports, MP Ténis and the Portuguese Tennis Federation and with the support of the Lisbon City Council and the Parish Council of Belém, the Del Monte Lisboa Belém Open takes place until 3 October at the CIF — Club Internacional de Foot- Ball.
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