Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral became the third and fourth national tennis players to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament, after Nuno Marques (Australian Open in 2000) and João Sousa (fourth finalist at the US Open in 2015, 2019 and 2022 and semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2019).
Portuguese tennis players Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral were, this Tuesday, removed from the when they lost in the quarterfinals to the third seeds, the Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
The national representatives, champions of the 2022 Estoril Open, were debuting among the eight best pairs of one of the four main tournaments of the world tennis season, which together make up the so-called Grand Slam.
Bolelli and Vavassori, runners-up at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2024, started better at the Kia Arena, the third largest stadium at Melbourne Park, and won the first half 6–4.
The second set was more balanced and the two Portuguese, childhood friends, only conceded in the tie-break, with the Italians closing the match 7–6 (7–4), in one hour and 36 minutes .
Borges and Cabral became the third and fourth national tennis players to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament, after Nuno Marques (Australian Open in 2000) and João Sousa (fourth finalist at the US Open in 2015, 2019 and 2022 and semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2019).
Borges, national number one and 33rd in the world in singles, had been eliminated last Friday, in the third round of the Australian Open, by world number three, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, in four stages.
Francisco Cabral, 28 years old, is the best Portuguese tennis player in the doubles variant, ranking 76th in the world rankings.
