The mornings play on day two at the Barcelona Spanish Masters proved fruitful from a Spanish perspective with their singles players winning 4 from 4 at first round stage.
Sara Penalver got the ball rolling after she benefited from a promotion to the main draw after World Champion Carolina Marin was forced to withdraw. Penalver saved one match point in the second game to win 23-21 before taking the deciding set 21-17 against qualifier Lauren Lam of the USA.
- I am very happy to win this match and to save the match point in the second game gave me great motivation.
Beatriz Corrales followed with a big win over one of the form circuit players from last season Luise Heim of Germany. Corrales looks to have circled the wagons over the summer and come back in stronger shape than ever. A 21-13 21-15 win in dominant fashion signals Corrales has travelled home to Spain with real intent this week.
Clara Azurmendi followed with a three set win over Marion Le Turdu of France before Luis Enrique Penalver rounded out the morning in 100% fashion for the Spanish.
Penalver clearly coped with the conditions better than his opponent Raul Must as the Estonian clearly struggled in the hot hall.
The morning session also saw the much anticipated introduction of Lee Yong Dae to the Spanish courts. The Korean legend alongside partner Kim Ji Jung looked to be enjoying their time on court even despite a few service faults called against him (pictured above).
The Koreans beat Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling in two games and now play Niclas Nohr and Kasper Antonsen of Denmark in round two.