Granollers/Zeballos save 4 MPs for an epic victory in CF de Madrid | ATP Tour

Madrid

Granollers/Zeballos move to SF in Madrid and secure No. 1

The Spaniard and the Argentine secured No. 1 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings

May 02, 2024

By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos fought their way into the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, when the second seeds saved four match points to win an extraordinary 27-minute match tie-break over Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.

Granollers and Zeballos, favorites at home, won 4-6, 6-2 and 16/14 at the Arantxa Sánchez Stadium. The Madrid 2021 champions needed all their experience to prevail in one of the most dramatic Match Tie-breaks of the season to date, to secure world No. 1 in the PIF ATP Live Ranknigs.

Nys was treated by the physio in the lower part of the torso in the 1/3, and the Monegasque from below in his next service points as the tension increased. Nys and Zielinski were able to get four match points, but were ultimately unable to convert them, as Granollers and Zeballos got the third match point for a decisive victory.

Meanwhile, Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek will be the next rivals of Granollers and Zeballos, who won 6-3, 4-6 and 10-6 against Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, fifteenth seeds. Uruguayan Behar and Czech Pavlasek have won all three of their matches this week in a Match Tie-break, and are now in their first Masters 1000 semi-final as a team.

The first quarterfinal match of the day was a duel of two halves for Jamie Murray and Michael Venus. The British-Kiwi pair raised their game in spectacular fashion to defeat Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 0-6, 6-4 10-2 on Thursday at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Murray and Venus suffered a nightmare first set in which they only won nine of the 33 points, but the eleventh seeds came back superbly to seal their place in the semi-finals after 66 minutes at the Manolo Santana Stadium. It is the second year in a row that Murray and Venus have reached the semi-finals in the Spanish capital. The pair will pursue their second appearance together at the Masters 1000 tournament (after Cincinnati last year) when they take on Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus advance to Madrid. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

As part of a new doubles format being tested this week in Madrid, Korda and Thompson were one of the singles specialists playing in a draw that was designed to pit them against doubles specialists. The American-Australian duo were the only singles specialist pairing to reach the quarterfinals, and they extended their stay at the Caja Mágica with a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

Korda and Thompson had six sets played and six won in Madrid by converting three of the 10 break points they won against Bolelli and Vavassori, according to Infosys ATP Stats. They responded magnificently to the loss of serve in the first game of the match, finally sealing the victory in 75 minutes at the Arantxa Sánchez Stadium.

Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson secured a place in the Madrid semi-finals with a victory this Thursday. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour