Ferrer shoots down the last Portuguese hope

David Ferrer, who received a late wildcard to Millennium Estoril Open, was the last player to make his debut in the singles main draw but the Spaniard was unfazed and defeated local Frederico Silva 6-3, 6-4 to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Ferrer stepped on Estádio Millennium as the clear favorite but the former ATP Top 3 was made to work by the 22-year-old Portuguese wildcard. After a nervous start Silva settled down and started to be more aggressive, eventually breaking his more experienced opponent twice.

As he was serving for the match at 5-4 Ferrer found himself trailing 0-40 but Silva was unable to convert either of the three break points and bowed out after one hour and 14 minutes, leaving the tournament without and Portuguese representative.

“It’s beautiful to return to winning ways. I will now focus on the matches on by one and hope to fight for the trophy”, said Ferrer after the match

It was the first win for Ferrer since the Australian Open and the first on clay this year. Next up for the Spaniard will be the American Ryan Harrison, who got a walkover to the “quarters” when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from Millennium Estoril Open, following the passing of his grandfather.