ATP Cincinnati: Marcel Granollers, Horacio Zeballos win tight final to claim title

No. 2 seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have won the Cincinnati Masters doubles title. 

Granollers and Zeballos claimed a tight win in the final as they edged out home favorite Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5). 

Granollers and Zeballos were pressuring the serve of Johnson and Krajicek but failed to secure a break. 

Johnson and Krajicek saved two break points in the fifth game and one more in the seventh game. 

After saving a total of three break points, Johnson and Krajicek had a set point on Granollers and Zeballos' serve in the 12th game but failed to convert. 

Johnson and Krajicek got off to a quick 3-0 lead in the tie-break but failed to hold on to their serve as Granollers and Zeballos won seven of the next nine points to win a tight opener. 

After winning a tight first set, Granollers and Zeballos claimed the first break of the match in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. 

However, Johnson and Krajicek kept their focus as they broke back immediately in the third game. 

As no more break points were seen -- the set went into a tie-break -- in which Granollers and Zeballos realized their first match point to book a tight two-set win. 

Granollers and Zeballos won title No. 2 in 2021 

Granollers and Zeballos have played in four finals this season.

They finished runners-up in Acapulco and Wimbledon but won it all at the Madrid Masters and Cincinnati Masters. 

Now, it's all set for the Cincinnati singles final between Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev. 

Rublev made the Cincinnati final after clinching his first win over Daniil Medvedev. 

"Even when I was 2-6 down, the score should not have been like this because the points were so tight,” Rublev said after beating Medvedev in his fifth attempt. “The match was so intense, so many long rallies, super tough, super physical, super mental. A lot like a chess match.

“Medvedev is one of those players who won’t give you a chance to attack, but if I have enough power and chose the right moment, I have to be the one to make him run. In the end, I was trying to find the perfect moment to start being more aggressive to open the angles.

“It gives me more confidence that I can compete against him. There are still so many things to improve, but It's like you pass university and they give you a diploma.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2W9dQqB