There was great emotion among those close to the tennis player after the consecration with Marcel Granollers in the doubles of the Rome Masters 1000.
Horacio Zeballos became champion of the Rome Masters 1000 and his father was moved to tears (Video and screenshots: ESPN)
Horacio Zeballos won his first title this Sunday since becoming number one in the world in ATP doubles. Paired with the Spanish Marcel Granollers, the other leader of the ranking, he beat the duo made up of the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo and the Croatian Mate Pavic by a double 6-2 to win the Rome Masters 1000 for the second time.
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Once the match was over, everything was excitement in the Foro Italico. There were tears both on the court and in the stands among those close to the tennis players.
”It has been a very special week. We played very well in a beautiful tournament that is now one of the best for us,” declared Zeballos with a broken voice.
Horacio Zeballos, doubles champion of the Rome Masters 1000 for the second time in his career (Video: ESPN)
And he continued: ”I don’t want to get emotional, but I want to thank my teammate (Granollers) because we have experienced very strong things. Also thank my father, my mother… we have been working hard and we deserve to be at this moment, in one of the most important tournaments for Argentines and South Americans. Thank you and see you next year.”
It was at that moment when the cameras captured Horacio Zeballos (father) in the stands, visibly emotional and drying his tears with one of the tournament towels.
It should be noted that the father of the Argentine number one in the world in doubles is a tennis reference in Mar del Plata: he introduced his son to the sport and is a renowned teacher and youth trainer.
The Masters 1000 in Rome was the first consecration for Zeballos and Granollers since they reached the top of the ranking. In addition, it was their sixth title in competitions of this category, after Canada 2019, Rome 2020, Madrid 2021, Cincinnati 2021 and Shanghai 2023. Thus they will arrive at the Roland Garros Grand Slam as the top favorites for the title.
The crazy celebration of Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers (Photo: ANSA)
2024-05-19 19:39:22
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