Granollers teams with Zeballos to earn 500th tour-level win in Miami

One of the doubles points of the 2024 Miami Open presented by Itau helped Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos advance to the third round on Monday — a result that also earned Granollers his 500th tour-level win. In a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, the Spanish/Argentine duo prevailed in a show-stopping exchange to set up the decisive break in the second set.

After claiming the opening set with the first break of the match in its 12th game, Granollers/Zeballos threatened again at 2-1, 30/30 in the second. Granollers kept the point alive with some nifty defending and a turned the tables with an exquisite half-volley. That set up Zeballos to split their opponents with a forehand winner. They converted the break that decided the set — and the match — on the next point.

The fourth seeds saved the only two break points they faced, with both coming at 1-1 in the opening set. They are now through to the quarter-finals, atoning for a first-round exit last year in Miami.

Third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury also advanced on Monday with a 7-5, 7-6(4) win against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The American/British duo delivered with their own a highlight at a crucial moment: After a frenetic all-court exchange, Ram caught Tsitsipas poaching early and rolled a backhand winner that helped force a second-set tie-break.

After three breaks in the opening set, none were claimed in the second — though both pairs fought off a break point in consecutive games from 4-4.

Elsewhere, in the first upset of the day, John-Patrick Smith and Sem Verbeek knocked out Indian Wells champions and eighth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 6-3. Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden avoided that fate with a 7-5, 7-6(3) win against Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, in which they saved all six break points against them.