It could not be. As happened in the last edition of the ATP Finals, the last one that was played in London, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos stayed one final step in this year’s, the first of the new headquarters, the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The Spanish and the Argentine, fourth favorites, fell in two sets (6-3 and 6-4) against the third, the French champions in 2019 and winners of five Grand Slams, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolás Mahut.
They will be the ones who fight for the title against the American Rajeev Ram and the British Joe Salisbury, who came back to get rid in a much more contested match of the first favorites, the number one duo in the world formed by the Croats Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (4-6, 7-6 (3) and 10-4).
Granollers and Zeballos had beaten Herbert and Mahut in their only two matches up to these Finals, both in 2021, on the sand of the Mutua Madrid Open and on the hard court of Acapulco. But this time, the French duo, more done (they have been together for more than six years), was superior. The first set was uphill for the Spanish-Argentine couple because of a Herbert ball that entered by the hair, another that was hooked on the net and could not return Granollers and two inopportune double faults by Zeballos.
Good season
In the second sleeve, the break came for 4-3, but the suffering of the losers to maintain the service had already begun in the first game.And the fact is, they didn’t have a single break ball. Maybe next time. They dismiss the course with two titles, at the 1,000 Masters in Madrid and Cincinnati, and two finals, in Acapulco and Wimbledon. Zeballos finishes as number six in doubles and Granollers is seven.
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