Jean-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah continued their red hot play over the weekend as they staked claim to a title for the second week in a row. Cabal-Farah took home the doubles crown at the Rio Open.
Two Consecutive Titles for Cabal-Farah
Top seeds Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah topped off their run at the Rio Open with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over David Marrero and Pablo Carreno Busta. Cabal-Farah bounced back from a late break of serve to push the opening set to a tiebreak. There, the top seeds would take a late point off Marrero and Carreno Busta's serve as they edged the opening set. The second would provide much less drama as Cabal-Farah broke the Spaniards in the opening game of the set. It would be the first of three breaks to help them secure the title. It marks the second straight week with a title for Cabal and Farah, who won in Buenos Aires the week prior to that. It is also the second year in a row that the pair took home the doubles titles in Rio.
Pavic and Venus Win Third Title of 2016
There may be a team hotter than Cabal and Farah, and it would be Mate Pavic and Michael Venus. The duo took home their third title of the season in Marseille this weekend. Pavic and Venus whipped Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming 6-2, 6-3 in the final at the Open 13. They needed just 58 minutes to secure the win, dropping just ten points on-serve in the match. The title is their third of the season, adding to the trophies won in Auckland and last week in Montpellier.
Venus said after the match that he and his partner are delighted with their early season success, "It was a great week here and to be able to play that well in the final today. It's our third title this year. We're just looking forward to next week, starting over again and just going through the same preparations and see how we do."
Marach-Martin Pull Off Miracle Win in Delray Beach
Bob and Mike Bryan were on the verge of breaking an eight month title drought in Delray Beach this weekend. The end result is another disappointing set back for the American twins. In the men's doubles final, the Bryans had a match point in the second set tie break against Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin. Marach-Martin would be steadier down the stretch to claim the tiebreak 9-7 to even the match. That sent the championship to a super tiebreak. The Bryans then held a commanding 9-5 lead in the finisher, but saw their opponents fight off five match points as they stunned the top seeds 13-11.
Mike Bryan said afterward that this loss will stick with the brothers for a bit, “It hurts. We’ll probably have a sleepless night, thinking about what we could have done differently, but that’s doubles. It’s a fine line."
As for the champions, Marach and Martin now have two titles together this season. The first one came early in Chennai. This latest win saw some good fortune shine on the pair. “We always thought we had nothing to lose,” Martin said. “We knew we were going to make it a good match. We gave it everything we had, and we got a bit lucky in the end.”
French Seeds Shocked in Dubai Final
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic looked locked in for their first title of the season at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. They were playing a pair of non-seeds in Chia-Jung Chuang and Darija Jurak for the title. Chuang and Jurak scored the shocking straight sets win over the second seeds 6-4, 6-4. The first set was sloppy with five straight breaks of serve to open the match. It was Chuang and Jurak who would hold first in the sixth game and that gave them the edge needed to take the set.
In the second set, Garcia and Mladenovic dropped serve early in the third game to trail 2-1. They would work back into the set with a break at 4-4, but immediately gave it back. Chuang and Jurak would close the match out in the next game. The win marks Chuang's 22nd WTA doubles title. Jurak notches her third. Garcia and Mladenovic are now 0-2 in finals this season.
Cepede Royg-Irigoyen Stake Claim to Rio Title
Veronica Cespeda Royg and Maria Irigoyen defeated Tara Moore and Conny Perrin 6-1, 7-6 (5) to take home the doubles crown at the Rio Open. The win gives Cepede Royg her first-ever WTA title. Irigoyen wins her second doubles title, both of which have come in Rio. Cepede Royg was excited following the win, telling reporters, "I want to thank my partner for the amazing week we had here in Rio. I'm really happy for winning my first WTA title in Rio."