5th seed Melinda Czink and 6th seed Magdalena Rybarikova were both upset today at the Estoril Open. Stephanie Voegele defeated Czink 6-4, 6-3, and Jarmila Groth defeated Rybarikova, also 6-4, 6-3.
Also leaving in the first round was Alize Cornet, who lost to Michelle Larcher De Brito in a match that lasted almost 2 hours and 47 minutes. De Brito emerged the victor, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Cornet hit nine aces, but had a lot of trouble with her second serve. Larcher De Brito double-faulted nine times, which is characteristic of her. This was probably a frustrating event to watch. Cornet once had such promise, and Larcher De Brito was considered a star on the rise. To her credit, Larcher De Brito is a very good ball-striker who finds a lot of angles, but the double faults and the sometimes wild hitting get her into trouble. She's still quite young, though, and has time to clean up those problems.