Lopez/Tsitsipas Win Acapulco Doubles Title, First Of Greek's Career
Lopez/Tsitsipas Win Acapulco Doubles Title, First Of Greek’s Career
A seven-time ATP Tour singles champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas tasted doubles glory for the first time on Saturday night in Acapulco.
Teaming with former doubles World No. 9 Feliciano Lopez, the Greek got it done with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.
The champions never trailed in the game score of either set, but after leading by an early break in the opener, they saved two set and break points at 4-5 on the Lopez serve, including one on a sudden-death point.
After breaking in the ensuing game, the Spanish/Greek duo won another sudden-death point, this one doubling as a set point of their own. After a Lopez drop volley opened the court, Tsitsipas fired a backhand winner to avoid a tie-break.
What a point! 💪 @steftsitsipas and @feliciano_lopez making some magic happen in the final at #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/rsOyfj2pXz Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 27, 2022
The heart of the second-set action came early, as both teams created break points in consecutive games. After Lopez/Tsitsipas broke on their second chance for 2-1, they erased two break points to consolidate on the Greek’s serve. Those were the last break chances of the match, with the champions saving six of seven in the contest.
Lopez sealed victory with an ace, the pair’s sixth of the match, earning a warm embrace from his teammate.
The Spaniard is now a six-time ATP Tour doubles champion, improving his record to 6-6 in finals. Tsitsipas levels at 1-1 after defeat in the 2019 Miami final with partner Wesley Koolhof.
Tsitsipas said: “It will give me confidence to win this title here in Acapulco. We had a lot of fun with Feliciano playing in front of many Mexican fans this week. We plan to team up again in the future.”
Lopez said: “It was at the Laver Cup that we spoke about playing some doubles together. We did well in Vienna losing to the Colombians and here we won our first title together. I just love playing in Mexico.”