his shared record with Nuno Marques and became the sole holder of the highest ranking ever for a Portuguese player, at no. 82. In early March, Gil played against Cyprus at the Davis Cup. After winning the first match over Photos Kallias, he lost both his doubles and singles matches and Portugal moved to the relegation round. Gil then entered his first career Masters 1000 event in Miami, as a qualifier. Following wins over Mischa Zverev and Ivo Karlović, Gil was defeated by then world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the third round. He moved up again in the ATP ranking, and entered April as world no. 70. Gil continued his form with a quarterfinals presence at the Grand Prix Hassan II, and fell in the second round at the Barcelona Open to Nadal again. A brief return to the Challenger Tour earned Gil a singles runner-up participation in Tunis. In May, Gil was the first Portuguese to enter the main draw of the Estoril Open thanks to his world ranking, but was eliminated in the first round by James Blake. After an early exit at the Kitzbühel Open, Gil entered the French Open, where he lost in the first round to David Ferrer. Despite the results, he ended the month ranked in his highest position during 2009, at no. 66. At the Queen's Club Championships, another early round came at the hands of former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, and Gil's participation at the Wimbledon Championships was equally brief – he lost in the first round at both singles and doubles events. In July, Gil again was called for Portugal Davis Cup team. Facing Algeria, he won his singles and doubles matches, thus helping Portugal to secure a place in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II the following year. Though he did not move past the early rounds at the Swedish Open, the Croatia Open, the Washington Open and the Connecticut Open, Gil still manage in between the ATP tournaments to return to the Challenger Tour and win a doubles final in Istanbul. At the US Open, Gil lost to Somdev Devvarman in the first round. After losing in the first round of another ATP tournament, the Romanian Open, Gil decided to move back to the Challenger Tour – he won singles and doubles title in Napoli in the end of September. Gil finished his season with a second round