This Thursday, Marcel Granollers became the second Spaniard in history to be number one in the doubles discipline, by defeating, along with Horacio Zeballos, the couple formed by Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, in a dramatic final in the quarterfinals. final of the Madrid Masters 1,000 (4-6, 6-2 and 16-14).
The Spanish tennis player repeats the feat of Emilio Sánchez Vicario, who was number one in the world for six weeks between April and May 1989. The Spanish Federation also recognizes Juan Gisbert and Manolo Orantes as number ones, who achieved it in 1975, before that the ATP ranking began to operate in March 1976.
Granollers and Zeballos surpass Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna for first place, and they do so after a dramatic finish on the Arantxa Sánchez Vicario court, where they had to overcome an adverse set and save four match points to end up winning. Zeballos, furthermore, could barely move due to cramps and Nys had to be treated by doctors for a back problem in the middle of the final super tiebreaker.
For Zeballos, this number one is also a milestone, since he is the first Argentine man in history to manage to climb to first place and in women only Gisela Dulko, in 2010, and Paola Suárez, in 2002, had achieved it before.
Eight titles with Zeballos
As a couple, Granollers and Zeballos have won eight titles, including six Masters 1,000, and this season they have established themselves as the most regular couple on the circuit, with finals in Auckland, Buenos Aires and Indian Wells, in addition to the semifinals in Miami and Monte Carlo.
His pending account is the Grand Slams. And only eight tennis players in the history of doubles reached number one without winning a major. In the case of Granollers, he lost a US Open final in 2014 with Marc López, and with Zeballos the US Open final in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.
In the semifinals in Madrid, the Spanish-Argentine duo will face Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek for a place in the final. Granollers and Zeballos already won this title in 2021, when they beat Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.
2024-05-02 17:04:39
#Marcel #Granollers #number #doubles #time
