Ahead of the May 1 start of the Estoril Open, from which James Blake is a late injury related withdrawal, top ATP-ranked Portuguese players Rui Machado (No116) and Frederico Gil (No119) were competing in Rome this week.
Both made successful starts to the 30,000 euro Challenger tournament, easily dismissing their respective Italian opponents.
At the time the Algarve Resident went to press, Faro resident Machado was facing the former top 20 player Mario Ancic but regardless of the outcome of that match the 26-year-old should be guaranteed a wild card entry to his home country highlight next week.
 Frederico Gil |
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