By Melody Gross 
There are four Portuguese in the main frame of the Millennium Estoril Open, after Henrique Rocha entered the ATP circuit four days after celebrating his 19th birthday unforgettable, securing a place in the main event.
Freed from the emotions it contained before announcing the end of his run the day before, Pedro Souza, 35, cruised to a quiet victory and thus the farewell to the top 100 players in the ATP 250 Portuguese league was postponed, while Federico Silva, who only succumbed in the third set , they have to wait for other people to withdraw to form the home quintet, presented by Nuno Borges (68th place), with a match scheduled with French Quentin Halles, and Joao Souza, 2018 champion who made his debut. Against Julio Ziberi, it was a straight entry.
However, Henrique Rocha was the first qualifier with a reason to keep his “heart pounding” on his debut on the ATP circuit. Yesterday, the CAR maiato team, No. 590 in the world, fielded Hungarian Mate Valkusz (238th), with a score of 6/4 and 6/2, scoring a duel with Spaniard Bernabé Zapata Miralles (41st) in the main frame. With a smile on his face, the 19-year-old tennis player on Thursday is a fearless surprise hit at the World Open. “If someone said I would debut on the ATP board before the Challenger, I would say they are crazy! This is my birthday week and I remember winning my first point the week of my birthday, on Easter Sunday,” he recalls. “The first person I saw here when I walked in on Friday was Casper Rudd and I immediately fell in love with him. Above all, I try to enjoy the experience of working closely with them, and seeing their routines. It’s a great experience, but I focus on myself and my work, ”confirmed the brother of Francisco Rocha, the national runner-up.
Although Pedro Souza is more routine on the big stages, he is also experiencing, for the first time, a feeling of limitation in his career. With relief, the Lisbon player yesterday scored twice 6/4 against Russia’s Timofey Skatov (155th) and joined Frenchman Luca Van Asch (108th) on the board. “I am very happy, that was the goal. yesterday [sábado] It was a difficult day, because all I thought about was what I would tell people, what the advertisement would be like. After I did that, I lost weight and knew it would be better. I’m tired, not because I’m physically ill, but because these things move me. In my current family context, it is impossible for me to have the physical and mental availability necessary for the level I want to play. It’s the hardest decision of my career, but when I put the other side in the balance, the decision becomes very easy,” he downplayed.