Survivors! Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin Brave Heat To Seal Los Cabos Title
Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin dug deep in sweltering Los Cabos on Saturday to claim the title at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo.
The top seeds at the hard-court ATP 250 downed Andrew Harris and Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 7-5 to claim their third tour-level crown of 2023. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin failed to serve out the match at 6-4, 5-4 but they responded to dropping serve with an immediate break to love before completing an 84-minute championship-match triumph.
“[The key was] surviving. It was probably one of the toughest weeks for us, to play every day in this weather where it is so humid, so hot,” said home favourite Gonzalez. “Especially today. We played [our previous matches] in the late evening, at nine or 10 p.m, and today was at 5:30 p.m., so it was obviously tough for everyone. [We fought] all the way through the match, so we are very happy to win the title here.”
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The 40-year-old Gonzalez is the third Mexican player to win the doubles title in Los Cabos, after Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela in 2018 and Hans Hach Verdugo in 2021.
“It’s very special, obviously. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Gonzalez after lifting his 21st tour-level doubles trophy. “I’d never won an ATP title in Mexico, so to win at home with Eddie is great.”
“I think we know each other very well now, especially as the key moments in a doubles match,” said Roger-Vasselin. “We don’t panic. I think this is one of the main keys to our success, that we are really strong even if we are facing some challenges during the match… I think this is the main reason we have won so many close matches and hopefully we can continue this until the end of the season.”
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin are now 33-15 for the year, having also won titles in Marseille and Miami. The pair is fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as they chase a spot at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
“So far, so good this year,” reflected Gonzalez. “We are happy obviously with this week, but also for the whole season. We keep going for the rest of the year. Our goals are clear. Try to win titles, try to move up the rankings, and hopefully at the end of the year we can make it to Turin.”
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