By Melody Gross 
A year ago, “Why not me?” Serves as a logo for champion Sebastian Baez in the form of a doodle on the cameras. It is not known if Joao Souza will be on the field next Sunday, as happened in 2018, making the echo of “A Portuguesa” in the chapel, but this Tuesday, the Guimarães native not only signed the camera at the end of the match and wrote a sentence. Viva Portugal, in this case, follows with heart, representing the feeling that was in the Portuguese tennis player, after rediscovering the taste of winning singles at the Millennium Estoril Open, where he is the only Portuguese player in the competition.
The current 147th in the standings needed 1.47 hours to overtake Italy’s Giulio Zippieri (121st) with 6/4, 1/6 and 6/3, playing at a “not played in some time” level. Therefore, the third victory of 2023 in the ATP tournaments was celebrated to transcend the emotion of those suffering from chronic injuries. Souza thanked the support with applause and a heartbeat and, contrary to ATP rules for international broadcasts, spoke … Portuguese.
“I don’t know how to speak English, so it should be in Portuguese,” he said between his laughs, not being known as a polyglot in the circle because of the six languages he spoke. He pointed to the people and said that this was the secret to the success of the duel that opened the door to the second round against Casper Rudd, the main favorite. “This is it. This environment, this affection, this amazing support that never fails, no matter what situation the player is in. I am very proud to be Portuguese, because I have such wonderful people supporting me. I am happy to live this experience again, thanks from the bottom of my heart » , thanked the former twenty-eighth world champion.
′′ It was a good victory. Regardless of the second set, which wasn’t the best, the truth is I didn’t feel like I played that bad until I lost 1/6. He eased slightly, after the second half, at 4/0, and the penalty was greater than the set itself. I’m happy with my performance,” analyzed the 34-year-old from Minho who had already secured a spot in the pairs quarter-finals the day before.
In this variant, where he is the reigning champion alongside Francisco Cabral, the Portuguese No. 1 in singles, Nuno Borges, will have to commit himself, having conceded 3/6 and 4/6 to Frenchman Quentin Hales (80) in the first round. ′′ I’m a little disappointed, I really wanted to win here. I couldn’t get the best match, also because of the opponent’s advantage. It was a faster match than I wanted, I tried to stretch it out a bit more, keep up with the moves, unfortunately I couldn’t,” I assumed Miyato’s 65 ATP tournament, not feeling too anxious for the good year he’d been in the tournament. “The match does not reflect the year I had,” stressed Burgess, who gave up playing in Monte Carlo to “manage the load” physically.
Champion of this edition having announced that it will be the last ATP tournament of his career which will end this year, Pedro Sousa was honored yesterday in the middle by his peers. The 34-year-old from Lisbon is best known for his sharp sense of humor, who once used a toilet break to find out the score of his Benfica soccer ball, whose holy mantle accompanied him around the world along with his racquets, surprised him afterwards. The battle was fought on Court No. 2 with Frenchman Luca van Asch (91) and conceded with 7/6 (7-5), 3/6 and 1/6.
“I wasn’t expecting. I was entering the locker room when they told me I couldn’t get in. I didn’t understand anything about what was happening and it was incredible to be able to enter center court again and have friends in tennis on and off. Only Gastão Elías was Missing [236.º ATP e um dos melhores amigos], I missed it. It was good to honor the biggest names in Portuguese tennis », ex-Top 100 who received a framed picture of the hands of João Zilhão, tournament director, rejoiced to applause from the crowd and, among others, João Sousa, Nuno Borges, Francisco Cabral – the latter two began the defense Doubles title today – coaches Rui Machado and Frederico Marquez.
With 15 appearances in the ATP 250 tournament since 2007, Pedro has not gone beyond the second round, but he does not forget the “special years”, like 2018. “Some matches are still remembered. With Gilles Simon, whom I beat before playing Joao. I lost with him, but he was amazing. There were many good times he had here,” much to the delight of the current 475th in the standings.