ATP Tour

Granollers & Zeballos use miraculous save to win Roland Garros, first Grand Slam title

Nearly six years after partnering for the first time at Montreal in 2019, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos won their first Grand Slam title as a team Saturday evening in Paris.

The fifth seeds, who have long been one of the top duos on the ATP Tour, defeated eighth seeds Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5 to win the Roland Garros title.

"It's a unique joy. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of winning Roland Garros, and today we finally did it after several chances," Zeballos said. "I am very happy and I dedicate this to my family and our team."

This was Granollers and Zeballos’ fourth major final together. They previously fell one victory short at the 2019 US Open and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023. But on this occasion, they found a way to secure the crown.

One miraculous shot might have been the difference between winning and losing. Granollers faced two break points at 3-3 in the deciding set when Zeballos hit arguably the shot of the tournament.

The Britons took control of the point and crashed the net, with Salisbury eventually finding an sharp angle from deuce court to deuce court inside the service box. The ball went well outside the doubles alley and Zeballos’ only option was to flick a backhand between the netpost and sponsor signage, which were separated by half a metre. The Argentine did just that, saving the game with a shot that was so difficult, his opponents broke into laughter.

Instead of falling behind by a service break late in the third set, Granollers and Zeballos escaped the game and eventually won the match. The champions, who hit 46 winners according to Infosys Stats, enjoyed an emotional celebration on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

"The best thing we did today was to stay mentally strong, and we had to make the difference when we needed," Zeballos said.

Granollers said: "I'm happy to have won it with Horacio. We've had many years of good results, and the major finals we lost were difficult moments, but we knew how to persevere. We never stopped trying, and today we have our reward"

Granollers and Zeballos are now third in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. They are trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year as a pair.

Britons Salisbury and Skupski began their full-time partnership this season and claimed their first Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Granollers and Skupski in Rome, 6-3, 6-2. But they were unable to replicate that success in their first major final together.