Granollers/Ceballos retain 4 MPs and win epic victory in Madrid | ATP Tour
Madrid
Granollers/Ceballos save 4 MPs and win epic victory in Madrid
The Spaniard and the Argentine took first place in the live PIF ATP rankings.
May 02, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Author: ATPTour.com/es staff
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Ceballos made it to the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday as the second seed saved four match points to win a freak 27-minute tiebreaker over Hugo Nis and Jan Zielinski.
Granollers and Ceballos, the home favourites, won 4-6, 6-2 and 16/14 at the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. The 2021 Madrid champions needed all their experience to prevail in one of the most dramatic tiebreakers of the season to date and move into the world No. 1 ranking on the PIF ATP Live Ranknigs.
Nisa was treated by a physiotherapist in the lower part of the body in 1/3, and the Monegasque from below in the following service points as the tension increased. Nees and Zielinski were able to collect four match points, but were ultimately unable to convert them as Granollers and Ceballos were awarded the third match point for the decisive victory.
Meanwhile, Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek will be the next opponents for Granollers and Ceballos, who won 6-3, 4-6 and 10-6 against fifteenth-ranked Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow. Uruguayan Behar and Czech Pavlasek won all three matches this week in tiebreakers and now reach the Masters 1000 semi-finals together for the first time.
The first quarter-final match of the day was a two-half duel between Jamie Murray and Michael Venus. The UK-Kiwi pair upped their game in spectacular fashion by defeating Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 0-6, 6-4, 10-2 on Thursday at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Murray and Venus endured a nightmare first set in which they took only nine of 33 points, but the eleventh seeds came back superbly to book their place in the semi-finals after 66 minutes at the Manolo Santana Stadium. Murray and Venus reached the semi-finals in the Spanish capital for the second year in a row. The pair will make their second Masters 1000 appearance together (after Cincinnati last year) when they take on Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson.
Jamie Murray and Michael Venus are promoting in Madrid. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
As part of the new doubles format being tested this week in Madrid, Korda and Thompson were among the singles specialists competing in a draw that was designed to pit them against doubles specialists. The American-Australian duo were the only specialist singles pair to reach the quarter-finals 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 played six sets and won six in Madrid, converting three of the 10 break points they won against Bolelli and Vavassori, according to Infosys ATP Stats. They responded superbly to losing serve in the first game of the match, finally sealing victory in 75 minutes at the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.
Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson secured their place in the Madrid semi-finals with victory this Thursday. Photo credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.