Resilient in Rotterdam! Bolelli/Vavassori hold firm to claim ATP 500 crown

Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori’s cool under pressure powered them all the way to the title on Sunday at the ABN AMRO Open.

The third-seeded duo overcame Sander Gille and Jan Zielinski 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 in a hard-fought championship match at the indoor hard-court ATP 500. Bolelli and Vavassori, who had won all six sets they had played prior to the final but were pushed to tie-breaks in four of them, again found something extra at key moments with the trophy on the line in Rotterdam.

The unstoppable double act 🤜🤛@BolelliSimone and Andrea Vavassori go all the way in Rotterdam after defeating Gille/Zielinski 6-2 4-6 10-6!@abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/rUyFyQMrpK

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 9, 2025

The Italians dropped just one of eight service points they played in the Match Tie-break en route to a 81-minute triumph. They finished the match having won 77 per cent (33/43) of points behind first serves overall, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“Bad luck today, it was a really tight final,” said Bolelli to the recently formed pairing of Gille and Zielinski after the two teams’ maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. “I wish you good luck for the rest of the season. It’s a long time, so I think we are going to play more and more times this year against each other.”

Now 13-1 for the season after also reaching their third major final at January’s Australian Open, Bolelli and Vavassori are now just 140 points behind first-placed Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. The pair has won five ATP Tour titles since first becoming a regular team at the start of 2023, including ATP 500 crowns in Halle (2024), Beijing (2024) and now Rotterdam.

“We started the season in an unbelievable way, in front of our team. It’s a pleasure to share the court with you,” said Vavassori. “My father and mother are watching at home. Thank you to all the fans, it was a great atmosphere. It’s one of the nicest tournaments that I have played… It was a great week for us, so for sure we will come next year.”