Portugal's Marcos Freitas was among the players that progressed through to the third preliminary round of the men's singles event as action begun today at the ITTF Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte ©Rémy Gros/ITTF

Portugal's Marcos Freitas was among the players that progressed through to the third preliminary round of the men's singles event as action begun today at the International Table Tennis Federation Bulgaria Open in Panagyurishte.

Having received a first-round bye, Freitas, the 2015 European Championships silver medallist, claimed an 11-4, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 win over Ukraine's Viktor Yefimov at Arena Asarel.

It was a powerful performance by the 31-year-old, pushing Yefimov into critical forehand errors with strong service and returns.

Next up for him is Russia's Vildan Gadiev, who came from behind to beat Luxembourg's Luka Mladenovic 8-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5.

Romania's Andreea Dragoman came through a thrilling seven-game match in the first preliminary round of the women's singles event ©ITTF
Romania's Andreea Dragoman came through a thrilling seven-game match in the first preliminary round of the women's singles event ©ITTF

One of the stand-out matches in the first preliminary round of the women's singles event was Romanian Andreea Dragoman's seven-game victory over France's Pauline Chasselin.

In a topsy-turvy contest, each player won an alternate game before Dragoman took the last.

The final score was 3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-5.

Dragoman will go onto face South Korea's Lee Eunhye tomorrow after she defeated Hungary's Dora Madarasz 11-7, 12-10, 16-14, 12-10.