Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Advance to Title Match at ATP Finals

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are one win away from the title…

The 37-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and his 38-year-old Argentine professional doubles partner have advanced to the championship match at the the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time together to keep their Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 hopes alive.

Granollers and Zeballos, the tournament’s fifth seeds, overcame Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday after one hour and 20 minutes in Turin.

Granollers and Zeballos are making their fourth appearance together at the year-end event, where they lost in the semifinals in 2020 and 2021.

They’ll look to go all the way on Sunday when they meet defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who defeated fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

“We are very happy,” Granollers said. “It is our third semi-final here at the Finals and we are happy to be in the final this time. We will try to enjoy the match and play our best tennis.”

Granollers and Zeballos are up to third in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings and will end the season in first place if they win the title in Turin. Already-eliminated Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek are currently first. Bopanna and Ebden are now out of the race.

“We tried to think that every match was a final because every match was against a great team,” Zeballos said on their run. “We tried to be positive and offensive and it is working so far so we will try the same tomorrow.”

Earlier this season, Granollers and Zeballos clinched the crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. Granollers is chasing his second title at the year-end event having triumphed with Marc Lopez in 2012.

Competing inside the Pala Alpitour, Granollers and Zeballos were comfortable on serve and were clinical on return in crucial moments. They pounced on two inconsistent serving games from Ebden, one in each set, to earn victory.

Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Advance to ATP Finals Doubles Semifinals

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos remain perfect…

The 37-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and his 38-year-old Argentine professional doubles partner maintained their perfect start at the 2023 ATP Finals with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Thursday in Turin, Italy.

Granollers and Zeballos notched a break in each set to wrap an 84-minute win and ensure they will finish at the top of Red Group with a 3-0 record.

They will now prepare for their third ATP Finals semifinal as a team, having also reached that stage in 2020 (in London) and 2021 (in Turin).

The win also kept alive Granollers and Zeballos’ hopes of clinching the Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 honor for the first time.

The pair is currently fifth in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, but can jump to a first-place finish by lifting the ATP Finals trophy for the first time as a team.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and his doubles partner, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, advanced from Red Group in second position after they saved a match point before downing top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 3-6, 15-13 earlier on Thursday.

Marcelo Arevalo Becomes First Central American Man to Win Grand Slam Title with French Open Men’s Doubles Victory

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Marcelo Arevalo has earned a place in tennis history…

The 31-year-old Salvadoran professional tennis player and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands won the French Open men’s doubles tennis championship by beating Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the U.S. 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final.

According to the International Tennis Federation, Arevalo is the first man from Central America to win a Grand Slam title.

Meanwhile, 41-year-old Rojer is the oldest Grand Slam men’s doubles champion in the Open era. He also won the 2017 US Open title with Horia Tecau.

Arevalo and Rojer were seeded 12th. Dodig and Krajicek were not seeded.

Dodig and Krajicek held three championship points at 6-5 in the second set but were unable to convert any.

Arevalo had previously won five career ATP Tour doubles titles.

Alex de Minaur & Pablo Carreno Busta Claim Western & Southern Open Men’s Doubles Title in Team Debut

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a debut to remember for Alex de Minaur and Pablo Carreno Busta…

The 21-year-old Uruguayan/Spanish-Australian tennis player and his 29-year-old Spanish doubles partner completed their team debut week by lifting the Western & Southern Open title on Saturday.

After breaking serve at 5-5 in the second set, rain forced the unseeded duo to wait until the conclusion of the singles final to complete a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

De Minaur and Carreno Busta, who trailed 0-4 in the second set, held their nerves to hold serve on the deciding point and claim their maiden ATP Tour doubles trophies after 83 minutes.

Carreno Busta was competing in his fourth tour-level doubles final, while de Minaur was making his debut in an ATP Tour doubles championship match.

“It was a good week for us,” said Carreno Busta. “We lost in the singles and we just tried to continue to play matches. It is important for us to get rhythm, to get confidence and I think the doubles, on this occasion, was good for this.

“We didn’t expect to arrive to a final and win the tournament, but we played the last matches better than the first ones.”

de Minaur and Carreno Busta have impressed from their first match at the ATP Masters 1000 event. The team upset defending champions Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek in the first round and also beat eighth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic en route to the championship match.

“It is a great feeling [to be back on the ATP Tour]. I am very happy to be back on court and hopefully this week in doubles can give me some confidence and momentum going into next week,” said de Minaur.

Murray and Skupski were also attempting to capture their first ATP Tour doubles trophy as a team. The Brits began their partnership by winning the Arizona Tennis Classic — an ATP Challenger Tour event — in March 2019.

After four service holds to open the final, de Minaur and Carreno Busta played the better tennis in crucial moments to earn four consecutive games and the first set. Carreno Busta flicked a pinpoint lob over Skupski’s head to reach deciding point at 2-2 and the Brit volleyed beyond the baseline to concede the break. de Minaur and Carreno Busta capitalized on Skupski double faults to gain a second break, before clinching the set after 30 minutes with a de Minaur service hold.

Murray and Skupski responded quickly in the second set, extracting multiple errors from Carreno Busta’s backhand and showcasing quick reactions at the net to earn a 4-0 lead. But Carreno Busta and de Minaur charged back and earned their third break of the set at 5-5 when Skupski fired long with a backhand approach shot. After an extended rain delay and a court switch to Louis Armstrong Stadium, the debut team captured the trophy on deciding point when Carreno Busta landed a forehand volley winner.

Carreno Busta and de Minaur earn 1000 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share $80,000 in prize money. Murray and Skupski earn 600 points and split $68,000.

Carreno Busta Defeats Nikola Mektic to Send Spain Into Davis Cup Quarterfinals

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Carreno Busta has helped keep Spain alive in Davis Cup play…

The 25-year-old Spanish tennis player defeated Nikola Mektic 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-4 as Spain edged depleted Croatia to reach the quarterfinals on Sunday with a 3-2 victory.

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Croatia’s Franko Skugor 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) to put Spain level at 2-2 and send the match into the deciding rubber.
Croatia won the doubles on Saturday for a surprise 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Croatia, last year’s World Group runner-up, played with a reserve lineup as it missed its four top players — Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Borna Coric and Ivan Dodig.

Spain was without Rafael Nadal.

Spain will play Serbia in the quarterfinals which completed its 4-1 rout of Russia on Sunday.

Cabal Claims First Grand Slam Title for Colombia in More Than 40 Years

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a grand slam for Juan Sebastian Cabal…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated second-seeded Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-4, in the final on Sunday to take home the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open.

This was only the second Grand Slam event as a team for Spears and Cabal, who lost in the first-round at the French Open last year.

With the victory, Cabal is celebrating his Grand Slam breakthrough, having been runner-up with Argentine Eduardo Schwank in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles. He had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in previous mixed doubles at Melbourne Park.

Spears and Cabal built on a brilliant 4-0 start to grab the opening set and continued to apply pressure with their consistency through the second. At 4-4, Dodig double-faulted to lose his serve and Cabal stepped up to close out the victory.

Cabal is the first Colombian in more than 40 years to win a Grand Slam.

Previously, Ivan Molina and Martina Navratilova teamed up to win the 1974 French Open mixed doubles title, beating Rosie Reyes Darmon and Marcello Lara 6–3, 6–3 in the final.

Cabal & Abigail Spears Reach Mixed Doubles Final at Australian Open

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Sebastian Cabal is getting a second chance to become a Grand Slam champion…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated Elina Svitolina and Chris Guccione, 7-6, 6-2, in the semifinals to reach the Mixed Doubles championship round at this year’s Australian Open.

It’s Cabal’s second appearance in a Grand Slam final, his first in mixed doubles. He previously played in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final with Eduardo Schwank, losing a close match to Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi in three sets.

Cabal and Spears will play Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in the mixed doubles final on Margaret Court Arena.

It’s only the third time a Colombian player has reached a Grand Slam final. Following Cabal’s appearance in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final, Robert Farah appeared in the mixed doubles final at last year’s Wimbledon. He and partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld lost to Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen in straight sets.

Marc Lopez & Feliciano Lopez Win Their First-Ever Grand Slam Doubles Title at the French Open

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

The third time’s the charm for Marc López…

The 33-year-old Spanish tennis player and his compatriot Feliciano Lopez won the French Open on Saturday for their first Grand Slam doubles title, denying Bob and Mike Bryan a 17th major trophy.

It was Marc Lopez’s third Grand Slam final appearance, having finished runner-up at Roland Garros and at the US Open two years ago alongside Marcel Granollers. It was Feliciano Lopez’s first Grand Slam doubles final.

The duo became the first Spanish pair to win at Roland Garros in 26 years with a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 victory over their American rivals.

The No. 15 seeds played together only once before at a major tournament and had to struggle to get to the final.

They saved six match points in their quarterfinal win over 2014 champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. They went to three sets before downing defending champions Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the semifinals.

The Bryans, the most successful pairing of all time, were seeking a third title on the red clay following victories in 2003 and 2013.

“The tough thing about us is that if we don’t leave with the big trophy it’s devastating,” Bob Bryan said. “We have high standards, and sometimes that makes it not fun, because we can’t get any kind of enjoyment out of a final or semi like maybe some other players.

“You know, that’s the burden that we carry. We’re feeling that pain right now. We don’t take any solace out of leaving with the square plate.”

Feliciano Lopez sealed the Spaniards’ win with an ace, and both partners fell on their backs in jubilation.

“You can’t imagine what it means to win a Grand Slam for the first time, against the best players in the sport,” Feliciano Lopez said.

The fifth-seeded Bryans saved a match point in the tiebreaker before evening it 1-1 in sets, but their rivals returned better in the decider and converted two of three break points.

“Winning a Grand Slam is something amazing, and I didn’t have a Grand Slam victory on my résumé,” Marc Lopez said. “Roland Garros is my favorite tournament. It has been the case for quite a long time. When I was a kid, I was watching the matches of great champions, the Spanish champions.”

The previous Spanish doubles team to win the French Open was Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez in 1990.

López Reaches First Grand Slam Final Ever in French Open Men’s Doubles

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Feliciano López has reached his first Grand Slam final…

The 34-year-old Spanish tennis player and his compatriot Marc López defeated defending champions Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 on Friday to reach their first French Open final as a team.

Dodig and Melo saved two match points serving at 4-5 in the deciding set, but succumbed two games later.

It will be Marc Lopez’s third Grand Slam final appearance, having finished runner-up at Roland Garros and at the US Open two years ago alongside Marcel Granollers.

Feliciano Lopez is into his first Grand Slam final since finishing runner-up at the 1998 Roland Garros junior doubles tournament.

Lopez/Lopez are aiming to become the first all-Spanish team to win the Roland Garros doubles title since Sergio Casal/Emilio Sanchez in 1990.

They saved six match points in their quarterfinal win over 2014 champions Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

The Spaniards will face Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who raced to the finish in a 7-5, 6-1 semifinal win against Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya.

Melo & Ivan Dodig Win French Open Men’s Doubles Title

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special first for Marcelo Melo…

The 31-year-old Brazilian tennis player and his doubles partner Ivan Dodig rallied from near defeat to upset two-time French Open champions and top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5 in the Roland Garros men’s doubles final on Saturday.

In the process, Melo and Dodig captured their first Grand Slam title as a team, having previously finished runner-up to the Bryans in the 2013 Wimbledon final.

They exacted revenge on the American twins after also falling in the 2014 ATP World Tour Finals title match, overcoming a set and a break deficit.

Both teams remained on serve in the third set until 5-5, when Melo’s quick hands at the net gave them the decisive break. A Dodig lunging forehand winner would hand them their first championship point a game later, which they converted after two hours and 15 minutes.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Melo during the on-court ceremony. “We thought we could do big things when we got together four years ago and our faith paid off. It wasn’t easy playing with Guga there in the stands, but thank you for coming to support us.”

“Thank you to all the people who came to watch a great match,” added Dodig. “We will continue to play many more tournaments.”

The Brazilian-Croatian tandem won their third tour-level title together. They also triumphed at the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters and 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel. With Gustavo Kuerten in the crowd, Melo became the first Brazilian champion at Roland Garros since 2001, when “Guga” won the men’s singles title.

The Bryans, meanwhile, were bidding to claim an Open Era record third Roland Garros team title and an unprecedented 17th overall at the Grand Slam level.

“Congratulations to Ivan and Marcelo,” said Bob. “It was a great match today. They’re good friends of ours and it’s good for the game. Got to thank the crowd for sticking around, it was a great atmosphere. Lastly, we’d like to thank our team. It’s great having my wife and the kids on the road.”

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