Estoril Open 2010 - The Gods get their feet on the dirt!

The Estoril Open is an ATP and WTA clay court tournament held in Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal (in spite of nominally located in Estoril). The men's tournament was created in 1990 and since its inception, every champion except 2004 champion Juan Ignacio Chela and 2009 champion Albert Montañés has been in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings, including former World No. 1 players Thomas Muster (1995 and 1996), Carlos Moyà (2000), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2001), and Roger Federer (2008).

Also, Marat Safin lost the 2004 final and Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Gustavo Kuerten won the doubles tournament in 1995 and 1997, respectively. It currently gives 40 Champion's Race points to its winner. The women's tournament, created in 1998, started as an ITF tournament, but in the next year became a WTA tournament. The women's tournament is currently an International Series tournament.

Statistically, this tournament highlights the dominance of Argentine and Spanish male players on red clay. Between 1990 and 2001, at least one Spaniard appeared in the final ten times, with a player from Spain claiming the title in nine of those twelve years.

The Spanish dominance waned in recent years. Since 2001, there were only two Spaniards in the final and only one of them won. Between 2002 and 2006, an Argentine made the final at Estoril, wining four of these five titles.

The roll of champions on the women's side is more diverse. In 2006, Estoril showcased the first all-Chinese final in tour history, between Jie Zheng and Na Li.

List of players for the 2010 draw

Men - (22/03/2010)
Bios courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com)
Roger Federer (SUI)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Albert Montanes (ESP)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
Pablo Cuevas (URU)
Florian Mayer (GER)
James Blake (USA)
Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
Marc Gicquel (FRA)
Alejandro Falla (COL)
Arnaud Clement (FRA)
Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
Santiago Giraldo (COL)
Nicolas Massu (CHI)
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)
Xavier Malisse (BEL)
Marcel Granollers (ESP)

Women (23/03/2010)
(Bios courtesy of SonyEricssonWTATour.com)
Na Li (CHN)
Agnes Szavay (HUN)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU)
Melinda Czink (HUN)
Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
Shaui Peng (CHN)
Sybille Bammer (AUT)
Iveta Benesova (CZE)
Tamira Paszek (AUT)
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Anastasija Sevastova (LTH)
Anna-Lena Gronefeld (GER)
Kimiko Date-Krumm (JAP)
Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
Julia Goerges (GER)
Angelique Kerber (GER)
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL)
Peta Martic (CRO)
Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU)
Alize Cornet (FRA)
Sofia Arvidsson (SWE)
Julie Coin (FRA)

DATES May 1-9, 2010


QUALIFYING May 1-2, 2010


MAIN DRAW May 2-9, 2010


SITE

Estadio Nacional
1495 Cruz Quebrada
Lisbon, Portugal

Site Plan

EXECUTIVE OFFICE João Lagos Sports SA
Rua da Barruncheira, nº 6 2790-034 Carnaxide Portugal


DIRECTOR João Lagos (Tournament Director)

SURFACE Clay (Centre Court, Centralito and four Show Courts)

2009 ATTENDANCE 45,543 spectators

Federer To Compete At 2010 Estoril Open

ATP World Tour No. 1 and former champion Roger Federer has confirmed he will return to compete at the Estoril Open, an ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tournament, from 1-9 May 2010.



The Swiss superstar snapped a five-month title drought by winning his 54th career ATP World Tour trophy at the Estoril Open (d. Davydenko) in May 2008, when a record 53,888 spectators visited the Estadio Nacional.

Federer is the all-time Grand Slam title-leader, having broken Pete Sampras’ record of 14 triumphs (1990-2002) at The Championships, Wimbledon, in July 2009.

Estoril Open - Chinese Star NA LI Headlines Women's Entry

Na Li, the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final and break into the Top 10 of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings, will lead the Estoril Open women’s field from 1-9 May 2010.


Li, who reached the 2005 (l. to Safarova) and 2006 (l. to Zheng) finals at the Estadio Nacional, venue of the clay-court tennis tournament, is joined by five other Top 50 players, including Agnes Szavay, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Aleksandra Wozniak, Sorana Cirstea and Melinda Czink.

Two-time runner-up Iveta Benesova will also compete again this year.

Estoril Open - Ljubicic Adds Name To 2010 Field

World No. 13 Ivan Ljubicic, who captured his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in March, will join World No. 1 Roger Federer and another former champion Nikolay Davydenko at the Estoril Open from 1-9 May 2010.

Seven players in the Top 50 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings have agreed to play at the Estadio Nacional, venue of the ATP World Tour 250 clay-court tennis tournament.

Ljubicic, 31, competed at the tournament in 2001, losing in the first round to Nicolas Lapentti. Federer captured the 2008 title, while Davydenko lifted the 2003 title and reached two other finals in 2006 and 2008.

Defending champion Albert Montanes, with a 9-4 overall tournament record, and last year’s runner-up James Blake will also return to the scene of their memorable final.