Granollers celebrates 500th tour-level doubles win

ATP

What started out as a tool for perfecting his game has become an endless source of success for Marcel Granollers — so much so that the Spaniard now has 500 tour-level doubles wins under his belt to go along with his 25 titles and career-high PIF ATP Doubles Ranking of World No. 4.

“While I was developing my singles tennis career, I always played doubles, because I thought it could help me in my singles game,” Granollers told ATPTour.com. “It was never a priority for me, but when I realised that singles was getting hard for me, I used doubles to extend my career a bit.”

Nearing 38 years of age, the Spaniard continues to grow his list of achievements on the doubles circuit. On Monday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he earned his 500th win, teaming with Horacio Zeballos for a 7-5, 6-3 result against Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.

Before deciding to commit himself fully to the team version of the game, he had played 452 singles matches, of which he won 202. During that period, he claimed titles in Houston in 2008, Gstaad in 2011, Valencia in 2011 and Kitzbühel in 2013.

“I think that every tournament I managed to win is very important to me,” says Granollers. “I’d say, above all, the first in Houston, because when I started as a professional, winning an ATP Tour title was a dream. The tournament in Valencia, being an ATP 500, I would consider my biggest title and sporting success.”

Unexpectedly, doubles was a parallel path that provided infinite joy. His relationship with the discipline started in February 2007, during the South American clay swing. Specifically, at the old tournament in Costa do Sauipe, where he formed a duo with Nicolas Almagro and claimed his first win against Argentina’s Juan-Pablo Guzman and Martin Vassallo Arguello, 7-6(5), 6-4.

His first experience of doubles on the ATP Tour was notable, as Granollers almost reached the final with his compatriot Almagro. Just two years later, on exactly the same stage in Brazil, the Catalonian won his first team trophy with Tommy Robredo.

In that 2009 season, he also won in Buenos Aires alongside Alberto Martin on the same surface, while a few months later he collected his third trophy on the hard courts of Moscow with Pablo Cuevas.

“I’ve had very good teammates with whom I’ve also had good relationships and that counts for a lot on court,” said Granollers. “I’m grateful that players such as Robredo, Feli [Feliciano Lopez] and Almagro gave me the opportunity to play with them in big tournaments when I was starting. Then with Marc [Lopez] I had great results and doing that with a friend is even more special.”

That first season with titles, as well as his ability to adapt to different teammates and enjoy success with each of them, provided some hints as to the direction his career would take. Granollers has now won titles with 12 different players by his side, including eight with Zeballos and four with Marc Lopez.

Granollers' Partners For His 25 Titles
8: Horacio Zeballos
4: Marc Lopez
2: Tommy Robredo, Pablo Cuevas, Ivan Dodig
1: Alberto Martin, Santiago Ventura, David Marrero, Marcin Matkowski, Jack Sock, Rajeev Ram, Sergiy Stakhovsky

“The secret to the Granollers/Lopez team was that we complemented one another very well, we have different styles of play and, most importantly, communication and confidence, as we are such good friends,” Lopez said of the team’s outstanding success. “To me confidence is vital in order to explain away any worries, doubts or insecurities”.

Granollers and Lopez picked up four titles together, but their peak came at the 2012 Nitto ATP Finals, when they claimed the crown in London.

“When we first qualified for the [Finals] and won, it was very special,” remembers Granollers, who was also close to winning a major with Lopez in 2014 when they reached the finals at Roland Garros and the US Open.

“Marcel is such a great player, he can adapt to all styles of play and surfaces, he’s very complete,” recalls Lopez. “My four years alongside him were incredible, three of them were very successful. I spent many happy weeks with many memories by his side. I’ve very happy that he’s still winning matches.”

After that brilliant pairing, Granollers found a new player to join forces with in an effort to fill his trophy cabinet and claim more wins. This time, it was Argentina’s Zeballos.

“Now with Horacio, we’re at a different point in our careers, only playing doubles, and things are going really well,” acknowledges the Spaniard.

Together, they have won eight titles, five of them in ATP Masters 1000 events: Montreal (2019), Rome (2020), Madrid (2021), Cincinnati (2021) and Shanghai (2023).

“The experience has been very good and that’s reflected in the results,” notes Zeballos. “It’s been five years and we’ve maintained a great level. Playing this tour is very tough and it’s difficult to keep it up. We’ve managed it with Marcel.

“I always point to a moment last year, when we weren’t doing well, losing in several first rounds, and we took the decision together to invest more time into our tennis, a little more time playing different types of tournaments — Challengers, ATP 250s — and that got us back to a good level both mentally and in terms of our tennis. It carried us through,” adds the Argentine.

Granollers has also come close to a Grand Slam alongside Zeballos, reaching the finals of the 2019 US Open, Wimbledon 2021 and Wimbledon 2023. They are still yet to get their hands on a major crown, but Granollers can now celebrate a major achievement after earning his 500th win.

Did You Know?
Granollers was also part of Spain’s Davis Cup team, winning the famous "salad bowl" in 2008, 2011 and 2019.

“Being able to win the Davis Cup and form part of the team is, without a doubt, one of my best sporting moments,” he says.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es