Estoril, Apr 14: Play on Monday was slow getting underway at the joint men's and women's event, with many competitors on the ATP side arriving from various Davis Cup draws around the world. One who didn't have far to travel was teenaged Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who opens here against Goran Ivanisevic. The 32-year-old Croat is hoping that his dodgy shoulder - it forced him to miss almost two years of play after winning Wimbledon in 2001 - will allow him to perform at a reasonable level. His first-round contest against the prodigy from Mallorca will be the showpiece of the first round. "I'm hitting the ball well right now, but Nadal is tough and he's the future," said Ivanisevic, appearing in Portugal for only the third time in his career. "He could be one of the best players.



"If I can stay with him on clay, then the shoulder is ok. I won't be aiming for a lot of aces, it will be more about serve placement and first serve percentage."



Rainer Schuettler is top seed ahead of Chile’s Nicolas Massu and number three Argentine Agustin Calleri, last year's losing finalist to Russian Nikolay Davydenko.

Bureau Report