Horia Tecau ended his 19-season pro career with a victory on Thursday when he partnered Kevin Krawietz to their first Green Group win at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The eighth-seeded German-Romanian team held their nerve for a 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-6 victory over fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who had already booked their places in Saturday’s semi-finals at the Pala Alpitour. Krawietz and Tecau finish round-robin play with a 1-2 record.
Later today, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the 2021 year-end No. 1 pair in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings with nine titles, will challenge sixth seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek for the second semi-final spot from the Green Group.
[FOLLOW FINALS]
Having saved five break points overall in their first two service games, Krawietz and Tecau grew in confidence, and it was a fine forehand winner from Krawietz on a deciding Deuce point on Zeballos’ serve that gave the eighth seeds a 4-2 advantage. Tecau closed out the first set, which lasted 34 minutes, with a hold to love after Krawietz struck a high volley for a winner.
The second set was a tale of two returners: Krawietz and Granollers, but no team could convert their chances through to a tie-break, which the Spanish-Argentinean team swept through for a Match tie-break. With clinical serving, Krawietz and Tecau finished their partnership in style.
Granollers and Zeballos qualified for the season finale semi-finals for the second straight year. They are now 26-12 on the season, which includes two ATP Masters 1000 trophies at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Mektic/Pavic) and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Johnson/Krajicek). They were also finalists at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco (l. to Skupski/Skupski) and at Wimbledon (l. to Mektic/Pavic).
Tecau, who reached a career-high No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings in November 2015, finishes his career with 38 tour-level doubles titles. The 36-year-old Romanian won 20 trophies with Jean-Julien Rojer and the pair finished 2015 as the year-end No. 1 team and Nitto ATP Finals champions. Together, they won the 2015 Wimbledon and 2017 US Open crowns.
The eighth-seeded German-Romanian team held their nerve for a 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-6 victory over fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who had already booked their places in Saturday’s semi-finals at the Pala Alpitour. Krawietz and Tecau finish round-robin play with a 1-2 record.
Later today, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the 2021 year-end No. 1 pair in the FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings with nine titles, will challenge sixth seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek for the second semi-final spot from the Green Group.
[FOLLOW FINALS]
Having saved five break points overall in their first two service games, Krawietz and Tecau grew in confidence, and it was a fine forehand winner from Krawietz on a deciding Deuce point on Zeballos’ serve that gave the eighth seeds a 4-2 advantage. Tecau closed out the first set, which lasted 34 minutes, with a hold to love after Krawietz struck a high volley for a winner.
The second set was a tale of two returners: Krawietz and Granollers, but no team could convert their chances through to a tie-break, which the Spanish-Argentinean team swept through for a Match tie-break. With clinical serving, Krawietz and Tecau finished their partnership in style.
Granollers and Zeballos qualified for the season finale semi-finals for the second straight year. They are now 26-12 on the season, which includes two ATP Masters 1000 trophies at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Mektic/Pavic) and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Johnson/Krajicek). They were also finalists at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco (l. to Skupski/Skupski) and at Wimbledon (l. to Mektic/Pavic).
Tecau, who reached a career-high No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings in November 2015, finishes his career with 38 tour-level doubles titles. The 36-year-old Romanian won 20 trophies with Jean-Julien Rojer and the pair finished 2015 as the year-end No. 1 team and Nitto ATP Finals champions. Together, they won the 2015 Wimbledon and 2017 US Open crowns.