Gonzalez/Molteni Lift Gijon Trophy

Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni captured their first tour-level title as a team on Sunday at the Gijon Open, where they edged Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-7(8), 7-6(4), 10-5.

The Argentines, who did not drop a set en route to the final, held their nerves in the key moments, striking returns with great depth and closing the net effectively to triumph after two hours and 21 minutes at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

“We played amazing,” Gonzalez said. “We were about to lose the match but managed to turn things around. This result gives us some confidence, even if we don’t play together on Tour.

“This is the first tournament we played as a team this season, but we were teammates during the ATP Cup. We know each other really well, have played together in the past and share practice sessions from time to time. All those things help to feel good on court.”

In a tight second set, Gonzalez and Molteni recovered from squandering a break advantage, before they pulled away from 4/4 in the Match Tie-break to clinch the crown. The pair has now won three titles together across all levels, having won trophies on the ATP Challenger Tour as a team in 2014 and 2017.

“I had never visited the north of Spain,” Molteni said. “We had this opportunity here in Gijon. I arrived last Friday so I spent more than a week here. We enjoyed the food, the beach,… We made the most of it.”

The 39-year-old Gonzalez improved his tour-level doubles finals record to 12-6 with the victory, while the 34-year-old Molteni is now 11-6 in championship matches. Earlier this season, Molteni captured titles with Santiago Gonzalez in Cordoba and Buenos Aires.

Americans Lammons and Withrow were aiming to win their second tour-level title as a team, having tasted success in San Diego last month.