Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos held off a stirring late comeback from Tim Puetz and Michael Venus to clinch a maiden title of 2022 at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle on Sunday.

A crashing forehand return winner from Granollers proved the moment of magic necessary to break the deadlock late on OWL Arena, where the top seeds prevailed 6-4, 6-7(5), 14-12 in a dramatic championship match to seal their first grass-court crown as a team.

Granollers and Zeballos had appeared on course for a more comfortable climax to a tight encounter when leading 5/0 in the Match Tie-break. Yet home favourite Puetz and New Zealander Venus rallied to force two match points of their own at 10/9 and 12/11, before Granollers intervention secured a seventh tour-level title for the Spanish-Argentine pairing.

“There was a bit of luck at the end of the match because you never know what is going to happen when you are 10/10 in the Match Tie-break,” said Granollers after the match. “I think it was a very good match, a good level from both teams. We were leading in the Match Tie-break, and sometimes it can happen that you get tight, but we’re very happy to win the tournament.”

“This is a really special moment for me,” said Zeballos. “I came here for the first time when I was 17 with my father. I met Roger [Federer] here, I played my first junior tournament, so what can I say. I have really nice memories, I’m so happy, I enjoyed the whole week, and now that we won the tournament it is perfect.”

Campeones 🇪🇸 🇦🇷@M_Granollers & @HoracioZeballos win the 2022 Halle title, saving match points on their way to defeating Puetz & Venus 6-4 6-7 14-12!#TWO22 pic.twitter.com/tbhoeVUJas

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 19, 2022

A couple of key moments defined a tight first set in the teams’ maiden ATP Head2Head meeting. Granollers and Zeballos recovered a pair of break points to hold in the second game and were clinical when their chance came along, converting a deciding deuce point for 4-3 that proved enough to claim the opening set.

Puetz and Venus responded to dropping their first set of the week by staying solid, but the German-New Zealand duo was forced to wait until a tie-break to level the match as serve dominated the second set. The third seeds converted their third set point to take it 7/5, as the excited crowd urged home favourite Puetz and his partner Venus on.

There was no panic from Granollers and Zeballos, however, whose combination of precise serving and solid net play ultimately proved enough to overcome their opponents’ late charge and complete a one-hour, 52-minute win at the ATP 500 event.

It is a first tour-level title for Granollers and Zeballos since they lifted the trophy at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last August. The duo is now 7-4 in ATP Tour finals.

This week on the ATP Tour, the world’s best aim to bring their top grass-court level to a pair of ATP 250 events in Eastbourne and Mallorca.

Home favourite Cameron Norrie headlines the draw at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where Jannik Sinner, defending champion Alex de Minaur and 2019 titlist Taylor Fritz are also chasing success on the English south coast from 20-25 June.

Daniil Medvedev defends his crown at the Mallorca Championships, taking place on the Balearic island from 19-25 June. Those trying to stop the World No. 1 in Spain include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov and the in-form Nick Kyrgios.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at five things to watch at each event.

View Draws: Eastbourne | Mallorca

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN EASTBOURNE

1) Norrie & Sinner Headline: Norrie is the top seed in Eastbourne, where the World No. 11 seeks to bounce back from an opening-round defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at The Queen’s Club last week. The British No. 1 reached the quarter-finals in 2018 and arrives in Eastbourne boasting an impressive 26-14 record for 2022, including two ATP Tour titles.

Sinner is seeded second in his first tournament since retiring from his Roland Garros quarter-final against Andrey Rublev due to a left knee injury. The Italian is making his Eastbourne debut as he hunts his maiden grass-court crown and his first title in 2022.

2) De Minaur Defends Crown: The Australian picked up his fifth tour-level title in Eastbourne last year by defeating Lorenzo Sonego in the championship match. De Minaur is seeded sixth this time around on the English south coast, as he seeks improved results after just one win across two tournaments in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and London.

3) Fritz Heads American Charge: Another former champion, Taylor Fritz, leads a strong squad of Americans in Eastbourne. The World No. 14 fell at the first hurdle in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and London but the third seed arrives with a 21-10 record for the season as he seeks his second title of 2022 at a tournament where he lifted the trophy in 2019.

Fritz is joined in the draw by countrymen Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda and Jenson Brooksby, as well as fifth seed Reilly Opelka, who opens against another American in Maxime Cressy.

4) Draper, Evans Lead British Hopes: As well as Norrie, World No. 31 Daniel Evans and #NextGenATP contender Jack Draper will be among those enjoying home support as they attempt to become the first British champion in Eastbourne since Greg Rusedski in 2003.

Evans was a quarter-finalist in 2021, while 20-year-old Draper will seek to back up his impressive defeat of Fritz in London last week with a strong showing on tournament debut. Wild card Ryan Peniston also made headlines at The Queen’s Club, clinching his maiden tour-level win against Casper Ruud and also defeating Francisco Cerundolo. The 26-year-old will hunt another upset in Eastbourne as he opens against eighth seed Holger Rune.

5) Defending Champs Mektic/Pavic: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic seek to maintain their dominance on the grass courts of Great Britain as they defend their title in Eastbourne. The Croatian pairing also lifted the trophy at Wimbledon last year and are set to play for a third title together on the surface at the Cinch Championships on Sunday.

Their rivals in Eastbourne this week include second seeds and 2019 champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, and Roland Garros finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN MALLORCA

1) Medvedev Defends Title: The World No. 1 clinched his maiden grass-court title on tournament debut in Mallorca last year and he has hit the ground running on the surface in 2022. Medvedev was a finalist in ‘s-Hertogenbosch a week ago and made it back-to-back ATP Tour finals this week at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, where he will play for his first title of the year against Hubert Hurkacz on Sunday.

2) Tsitsipas & Shapovalov Debuts: Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is 2-2 on grass this year but the Greek looked to have found his feet on the surface in Halle last week, despite a narrow second-round loss to Nick Kyrgios. The World No. 6 is making his debut in Mallorca, where he is chasing his second title of the year.

Another powerful 23-year-old, Denis Shapovalov, is seeking his first win of the year on grass as he makes his first appearance in Mallorca. The Canadian will hope to rediscover the form that took him to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in 2021.

3) Kyrgios To Kick On?: Kyrgios has looked in a confident mood in Germany in the past two weeks, reaching the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle. Despite narrow defeats to Andy Murray and Hubert Hurkacz in those respective final-four clashes, the big-serving Australian will be a major threat on tournament debut in Mallorca as he hunts his maiden tour-level crown on grass. Top seed Medvedev is a potential quarter-final opponent for the 27-year-old.

4) Spaniards Chase Home Success: Fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta is the highest-ranked home hope in Mallorca, where he is chasing his first grass-court title. A semi-finalist in 2021, he can turn to countryman Feliciano Lopez for advice on how to go further on the surface — the wild card has won four of his seven tour-level titles on grass — while fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut also has experience in that department, having lifted the trophy in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2014.

5) Arevalo/Rojer Top Seeds: Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer’s eight-match winning streak was ended in the Halle semi-finals, but the El Salvadorian-Dutch pairing remains one of the form teams on the ATP Tour, having collected three titles since coming together at the start of the year. The Roland Garros champions are the top seeds in Mallorca, where their highest-ranked rivals are all-German duo Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.

The first three members of Team World have been confirmed for the 2022 Laver Cup, to be held at The O2 in London from 23-25 September 2022.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Diego Schwartzman will join John McEnroe’s squad, giving Team World the top player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Canada, the United States and Argentina.

All three players have represented Team World in previous Laver Cups. Both Auger-Aliassime and Fritz are making their second appearances, while Schwartzman returns for his third showing.

“These are tough competitors each with a track record now of beating the best and winning titles at the highest level,” McEnroe said. “They also understand Laver Cup competition and how matches can swing so easily. We have been extremely close to pulling off a Team World victory in four attempts and will have an excellent chance with Felix, Taylor and Diego on the team.”

World No. 9 Auger-Aliassime entered the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time in January and won the first ATP Tour title of his young career in Rotterdam in February. The 21-year-old made his Laver Cup debut against Matteo Berrettini last year in Boston, where he fell just short in a Match Tie-break in a two-hour, 52-minute match — the longest in the competition’s history.

“I’m excited to be returning for Team World,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Boston was a great first experience of Laver Cup and the atmosphere was very special. One year on, I feel confident that I can win points for Team World this time around.”

Indian Wells champion Fritz competed in the 2019 Laver Cup in Geneva, where he beat then-world No. 5 Dominic Thiem in what he called “one of the biggest wins of my career”. 

“I thrive in a team environment and Laver Cup really brings out the best in me,” said the World No. 14.

Schwartzman, a two-time ATP Tour finalist this season, has previously suited up for Team World in Chicago in 2018 and Boston in 2021.

“I have great memories of playing Laver Cup and forming such strong bonds with my teammates,” added Schwartzman. “I can’t wait to take part this year at The O2. The atmosphere will be out of this world.”

Under Laver Cup rules, the three highest-ranked players from Europe and the world on the qualification date (6 June) are invited to compete on the six-man teams. The remaining three places are held for captains’ picks.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have been confirmed for Team Europe, with more player announcements to be made in the coming weeks.

Tim Puetz and Michael Venus defeated Roland Garros champions Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, 6-3, 6-4, on Saturday to reach the final of the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.

The 34-year-olds from Germany and New Zealand have not dropped a set on the way to their third final of 2022 as they seek to add to their Dubai title from February. With the victory, they improved to 32-14 overall as a team, including 17-6 in 2022. The third seeds are 3-1 in finals as a duo, with their biggest title coming at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters.

Prior to beating the Arevalo and Rojer in the semis, Puetz/Venus eliminated two-time Roland Garros champs Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in the quarter-finals. They will face top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in Sunday’s final; the Spanish-Argentine duo defeated Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 10-8 on Friday.

Frankfurt native Puetz is bidding to become the ninth German to win the Halle doubles title. He is seeking his eighth tour-level doubles title and can complete the ATP Tour set of four German titles after previous triumphs in Stuttgart (2018), Munich (2019), and Hamburg (2021).

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Queen’s Club Doubles Action Suspended
Harri Heliovaara and Lloyd Glasspool took a 7-5 opening set against Denis Shapovalov and Rohan Bopanna before play was suspended Saturday evening at the Cinch Championships due to slippery conditions on court. They will complete their match on Sunday, with a final meeting with second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic awaiting the winner. The second-seeded Croatians advanced to the final on Friday with a 5-7, 6-2, 10-8 win against Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.

For Shapovalov, this is his second match this week that has been carried over into a second day. He split the first two sets of his opening-round singles match against Paul before the American took the third set on Wednesday.

World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev may have the privilege of a first-round bye at next week’s Mallorca Championships, but he faces a difficult draw beyond that at the Spanish ATP 250 event. He will face Aslan Karatsev or wild card Jaume Munar in the second round, and could meet Nick Kyrgios or fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals.

Wild card Kyrgios opens against Serbia’s Laslo Djere, with fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut a potential second-round opponent.

View Mallorca Draw

Stefanos Tsitsipas anchors the bottom half of the Mallorca draw as the tournament’s second seed, with Ilya Ivashka or Emil Ruusuvuori his potential opening-match opponents. Third seed Denis Shapovalov is also in the bottom half, while fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta joins Medvedev in the top half.

Carreno Busta is one of four Spaniards in the main draw (not including potential qualifiers), along with Bautista Agut and wild cards Feliciano Lopez and Munar.

Five Britons In Eastbourne Draw
Top seed Cameron Norrie leads five British men in the Rothesay International draw, but wild cards Jack Draper and Ryan Peniston will contest two of the marquee first-round matches. Both Draper and Peniston notched wins this week at The Queen’s Club in London, with Draper upsetting Taylor Fritz and Peniston downing Casper Ruud and Francisco Cerundolo.

View Eastbourne Draw

#NexGenATP star Draper will face 21-year-old American Jenson Brooksby in his Eastbourne opener, with the winner earning a meeting with fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in the second quarter of the draw. The 26-year-old Peniston faces #NextGen ATP Dane and Roland Garros quarter-finalist Holger Rune in that same quarter.

Second seed Jannik Sinner and third seed Taylor Fritz lead the bottom half of the draw, where seventh seed Frances Tiafoe’s first-round meeting with Alexander Bublik is among the early highlights.

Hubert Hurkacz advanced to his fifth ATP Tour final — and his first of 2022 — by powering past Nick Kyrgios at the Terra Wortmann Open, 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), on Saturday. His place in his first grass-court title match is reward for a consistent season that has seen him compile a 27-11 record and reach three semi-finals, including this week in Halle.

He will face Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final, after the World No. 1 moved past Oscar Otte, 7-6(3), 6-3.

In a match of fine margins, both players stood tall behind strong serving and could not be separated until late in each set. A single mini-break decided the third-set tie-break, with Kyrgios missing after Hurkacz floated a return deep into his forehand corner.

“One or two shots [was the difference],” Hurkacz said post-match. “Definitely super close. Nick played a really, really great match. He’s a great player, so it was definitely a super tough one.”

For the second straight match, including his 7-6(2), 7-6(4) quarter-final win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hurkacz won without securing a break of serve. He improves to 5-0 in tie-breaks this week.

“Trying to hit the strings on the return, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Hurkacz said with a laugh, attempting to explain his success in the tie-breaks. “Playing here with such a great server as Nick, you just try to get one ball in and that can make the difference.”

Hurkacz tied his career-high for aces in a three-set match with 27 against Kyrgios, including 13 in the final set, and won just fewer than 80 per cent of points on both his first (78 per cent) and second (79 per cent) serves.

Kyrgios secured the only break of the match to claim a lightning-fast opening set in 31 minutes. The Aussie wild card crafted consecutive winners to convert at 4-4, but would not see another break point. 

Hurkacz brought up the only break point of the second set in its fourth game but Kyrgios erased it with a timely ace, one of his 30 in the match. Just as Kyrgios used some late-set magic to seal the opener, Hurkacz put together a string of five dominant points to establish a 5/1 lead in the second-set tie-break behind some lasered returns 

The Pole could not convert on his second break point at 1-1 in the third, but instead did his damage in the tie-break after holding to love in three of his last four service games.

The moment @HubertHurkacz secured a spot in the final! 🎟️@ATPHalle | #TWO22 pic.twitter.com/wboqDhZiRy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 18, 2022

After beating Kyrgios in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, Hurkacz will face Medvedev for the fifth time in the final. Their series stands level at 2-2, with all four of their previous meetings coming in the past 12 months. Hurkacz defeated Medvedev in five sets last year at Wimbledon in their first meeting.

The Pole is 4-0 in finals on the ATP Tour.

“When you play in the finals, you always want to get the big trophy,” he said of his perfect record in those matches. “It’s always super exciting to be part of the last match of the tournament… I really enjoy playing on grass courts. Of course Daniil is No. 1 in the world. I’ve never beaten a No. 1 in the world before. It’s going to be a tough one but I’ll try to enjoy it and play as good as I can.”

Kyrgios was playing in his third consecutive tour-level semi-final, but continues his search for a first final on the year and on grass. The World No. 65’s performance in Halle has lifted him 20 spots to No. 45 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Filip Krajinovic earned the biggest win of his season on Saturday at the Cinch Championships, where he downed seventh seed Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first ATP Tour final of the season.

The Serbian, who is making his debut in London, played with confidence as he took the match to Cilic in windy conditions. The 30-year-old hit with relentless depth on return, while he struck his groundstrokes with consistency to advance after 80 minutes.

“It is an unbelievable feeling,” Krajinovic said in his on-court interview. “I can’t believe I am in the final. Before this tournament I had never won a match on grass. [I thought] I would come here and win just one or maybe two matches, but now I am in the final. It is a dream come true. It is traditional and an honour to play here in front of you guys. It is a dream for me.”

Krajinovic had not won a tour-level match on grass before this week, but will now face 2021 titlist Matteo Berrettini in the championship match on Sunday. He holds a 0-4 record in tour-level finals, but can take confidence from his strong performances this week as he looks to capture his first win over the Italian.

“Let’s see. I am just going and enjoy,” Krajinovic said when looking ahead to the final. “I have nothing to lose, so let’s see. I will enjoy and see what happens and of course give my best.”

Krajinovic is now up to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, having also defeated Jenson Brooksby, Sam Querrey and Ryan Peniston this week.

In a lively encounter, it was Krajinovic who looked dictate with his flat and penetrating groundstrokes. He pulled Cilic around the court and raised his level in the key moments, saving all six break points he faced to earn his third Top 20 win of the year.

Cilic has captured 35 wins at The Queen’s Club in his career, the most of any active player. However, the 2012 and 2018 winner, who was aiming to reach his fifth final at the ATP 500 grass-court, was unable to find his best level in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Krajinovic.