Granollers & Zeballos chase elusive Turin title, year-end No. 1

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos were just one win away from claiming the Nitto ATP Finals in 2023. They lost in the final to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. One season later, Spaniard and Argentine are back in Turin after a spectacular 2024 season that has catapulted them to the pinnacle of the PIF ATP Doubles Team Rankings, where they could end the season if things go their way in Italy.

“We arrive here after a very good year,” Granollers explained on Saturday. “We’ve had good results in almost every tournament we’ve played in. We’ve had a very consistent year and arriving here with these results really gives us confidence,” he added. “We’re playing well, practising well and hopefully we’ll have a good tournament.”

Granollers and Zeballos, who will play their opener on Sunday against Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, have paced themselves exceptionally well throughout the season, with a very well-thought-out schedule.

“Neither of us are 20”, said Granollers, 38. “We try to achieve that balance, to be fresh and hungry and have a good mindset when the important tournaments come around. Judging by the results we’ve had throughout the year, it’s worked well for us. We’ve managed to create a schedule that prioritizes the big tournaments,” he added.

“I think if you look after yourself and do things right... we see a lot of doubles players of our age, some even older, and they’re able to play at a good level,” continued Granollers. “We’re not thinking five years ahead, really we’re taking things more year by year. We feel good, we’re playing well, so why not?”

That “why not?” was a confirmation that Granollers will continue to play in 2025, despite the fact that he had been considering retirement at the end of this season. With two titles in 2024 (the ATP Masters 1000s in Rome and Canada) and a further three finals (Auckland, Buenos Aires and Indian Wells), there is certainly no shortage of reasons to continue.

“This year has been so good and, in the end, we’re getting really good results,” Granollers continued. “Obviously, that helps with the daily grind. We’ve said that hopefully we can do a similar schedule next year, which would mean we’ve done well. We’re really motivated to have another good season.”

First though, of course, they are on a mission to conquer Turin, and to finish the year at the top of the rankings while they are at it.

“It would be good, of course”, said Granollers. “We’ve been at the top of the ranking for a few months. It would be amazing, but we’re really focused on trying to play our tennis. We know that the team that plays well here will achieve that, but we’re taking it day by day. It’s a very tough tournament and we have to be at our best.”

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