Marcelo’s magic: Arevalo’s incredible rise to the doubles elite | ATP Tour

Double

Marcelo’s magic: Arévalo’s incredible rise to the doubles elite

This has been the evolution of the Salvadoran in the ATP Tour

August 19, 2024

In the second round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, top seed Roger Federer faced Rafael Arévalo, who had never cracked the Top 400 of the PIF ATP Rankings. At 22, the player from El Salvador was a relative unknown to the general public, who peaked at World No. 374.

But that match served as a launching pad for the outstanding career of another Salvadoran, in this case, Rafael’s younger brother, Marcelo Arévalo, who will play alongside Mate Pavic in the Cincinnati Open doubles final this Monday against Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen.

“It was like a dream because my brother was at home and a few days later I was watching him on TV against Federer, who at that time was dominating everyone. He was still number one in the world. It was incredible,” the younger Arevalo told ATPTour.com. “Seeing my brother playing against Federer, and coming out of the same house, the same family, was what made me realize and say: You know what? I can be good too. If my brother is there, I can be like him. And that’s when I started taking tennis more seriously.”

Tennis was a family affair for the Arevalos. They belonged to a beach club in their hometown of Sonsonate that had two hard courts.

“I was always playing against the wall. I was always with my racket and a tennis ball, playing against the wall. And then my father, after a long day, would play with me,” Arevalo recalled. “It was crazy, because most people would go to the club to spend time on the beach. They would go to the beach, stay there, get in the water, come back, then get in the water again when they were hot, and so on. But we would spend the whole Saturday or the whole Sunday on the tennis court, which was next to the beach,” she said.

Marcelo was inspired by his brother, who is four years older than him. Rafael traveled to different countries to represent El Salvador in the junior category.

“Being the younger brother, I was like, ‘Wow, my brother represents the country, he plays in Guatemala or Honduras, Nicaragua or Costa Rica. So I got into that world because of him,” Arévalo said. “I wanted, as a younger brother, to be like my older brother, and he was my idol. I would say that was the reason I got into this sport.”

Shortly after Rafael played Federer at the Beijing Olympics, Marcelo, who was 18, moved to El Salvador’s capital and began studying at home so he could train four or five hours a day. He rose to No. 8 in the junior rankings.

“In the end, you are still a child, and you do what your parents or family guide you to do,” Arévalo continued. “I was lucky that my family always supported me and allowed me to follow my dream.”

After playing a few ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments, Arévalo played collegiate tennis at the University of Tulsa, where he was named Conference USA Player of the Year as a sophomore.

The Salvadoran entered the adventure of professional tennis, winning three ATP Challenger Tour titles and reaching No. 139 in the PIF ATP Rankings. But his greatest successes were reserved for the discipline of doubles.

Arévalo went more than three years without winning a trophy, since he achieved his first title in 2018 alongside Miguel Reyes Varela in Los Cabos. But since he teamed up with Jean-Julien Rojer in 2022, he has become one of the best players in the world.

The Salvadoran won seven titles with the Dutchman during the two seasons they were a couple (2022-2023), qualifying for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. That season they won Roland Garros, allowing Arévalo to become the first Central American to win a Grand Slam.

“I feel like it’s not normal and I think it’s something I would love to keep being like that, because I feel it every time I win something, no matter if it’s big or small,” Arévalo added. “I feel the same joy as years ago when I won my first ATP 250 in 2018. At that time, it was probably the biggest achievement of my career. But today, for example, after winning Hong Kong at the beginning of the year, I felt the same happiness, the same enjoyment, and that’s something I really like, because I try to enjoy the moment.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re up or down, a win is a win, I always think like that. And you have to be grateful when you win big titles like a Grand Slam or an ATP Masters 1000, but you always have to accept as well, or be aware, that those kinds of titles are not won often.”

Arevalo is not worried about this year. The Salvadoran has formed a new successful partnership with Croatian Mate Pavic. They won at Roland Garros and are second in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, well positioned to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

It’s been 16 years since he watched his brother play Federer on television.

“It’s incredible. I feel like it’s a family dream, an achievement of the whole family,” she said. “I think everyone has worked hard to get me to where I am now, in terms of time dedication or financial investment,” she continued. “I remember that my parents, instead of going on vacation, didn’t go because they had to pay for our tennis trips, send us to tournaments and sometimes for a week to an academy to try to play with better kids. So it’s an effort of the whole family.”

“In the end, maybe I’m representing my family in this whole dream, but I see it as an effort by the whole family, a dream come true.”