Jean Julien-Rojer and Horia Tecau have qualified for the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Dutch-Romanian duo qualified after winning the US Open title at Flushing Meadows, defeating the all-Spanish duo of Feliciano and Marc Lopez. Rojer and Tecau won the ATP World Tour Finals title back in 2015, defeating Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea.

Slow Starts

It wasn’t the best start for the pair as the duo failed to make it past the semifinals of their opening five tournaments. The biggest shock that hit them was getting upset by Andrew Whittington and Marc Polmans at the Australian Open in the round of 16. The two began to pick it up at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships, defeating Bopanna and Marcin Matkowski for their first title of the year.

Rojer and Tecau won their
Rojer and Tecau won their first title of the year in Dubai (Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Despite the title, the pair still struggled to find their form, making one semifinal in their following six tournaments as they transitioned from the hard courts to the clay. Geneva faired better to them as the duo picked up a second title of the year by defeating the all-Colombian duo of Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal.

Once again, they failed to capitalize on the momentum of the title they won, exiting in the round of 16 at the French Open. The transition to the grass did not do them any better, losing in the second round of both warm-up tournaments ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Halle before going out in the first round of Wimbledon.

Hard Court Heaven

Early exits in DC, Montreal, and Cincinnati meant worrying times for the duo headed into the US Open. The team decided to play in Winston-Salem and took the title over Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos. They took their title in the Winston-Salem and rode the wave of momentum to a title in New York, their second Grand Slam title in their partnership.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.