Pablo Cuevas · Biography

In June 2008, in the men's doubles final at Roland Garros, Pablo Cuevas and Peru's Luis Horna beat Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 6-2, 6-3. The match lasted 56 minutes and gave Cuevas his first ATP title and the only Grand Slam of his career. He was born on 1 January 1986 in Concordia, in the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, and always competed for Uruguay. A right-hander with a one-handed backhand, he spent almost all of a two-decade career on clay, a career that ended in 2024.

Early years

Cuevas played his first Futures event as a wildcard in late 2002 and earned his first ATP point in 2003. He turned professional in 2004, the same year he made his debut for Uruguay's Davis Cup team. In April that year he won three of his four singles rubbers in the ties against Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In his first seasons he split his time between the Challenger circuit and qualifying for ATP events, with clay as his main surface.

Rise in doubles

After the Paris title, his strongest results came in doubles. In 2009 he won in Viña del Mar with Argentina's Brian Dabul and at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow with Spain's Marcel Granollers, and the pair won again at the Brasil Open in 2010. On 20 April 2009 he reached No. 14 in the doubles rankings, his career high in that format. In singles he reached the second round of the US Open in 2009 and 2010, and of Wimbledon in 2009. His game was built on heavy topspin and a one-handed backhand that opened sharp angles on passing shots. It suited clay, the surface on which he won all of his singles titles.

The knee injury

At the 2011 French Open he retired in the first round with a leg problem. Soon afterwards he had surgery on his right knee and spent almost two years away from the tour, without playing a single match in 2012. He returned in 2013 at the Brazilian Challengers in Santos and São Paulo and had to rebuild his ranking one tournament at a time.

Singles titles

The singles titles came after that comeback. In July 2014 he won in Båstad, beating João Sousa 6-2, 6-1, and later that month took Umag against Tommy Robredo, 6-3, 6-4. In February 2015 he beat Luca Vanni 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) to win the Brasil Open. In February 2016 he won the Rio Open, an ATP 500 event, defeating Guido Pella 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, and that same month defended his Brasil Open title against Pablo Carreño Busta. On 15 August 2016 he climbed to No. 19 in the singles rankings. In March 2017 he won his third Brasil Open, this time against Albert Ramos Viñolas, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. At the Grand Slams his singles ceiling was the third round of the French Open, which he reached in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Masters 1000 and the Olympics

Without giving up singles, Cuevas kept winning doubles trophies at Masters 1000 level. In 2015 he won the Rome Masters with Spain's David Marrero, and in 2017 the Monte-Carlo Masters with India's Rohan Bopanna. He finished his career with nine ATP doubles titles which, added to his six in singles, make 15 in total. In 2016 he represented Uruguay at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, where he lost in the second round of the singles draw. In the summer of 2018 he broke a foot, which limited his schedule for the rest of that season.

Davis Cup and retirement

He played for Uruguay in the Davis Cup from his debut in 2004 onwards. In September 2019 he played a decisive role in Uruguay's win over the Dominican Republic, which took his country into the World Group. He stayed on the tour for five more seasons. On 24 September 2024 he announced his retirement from professional tennis in a letter posted on social media, with 15 ATP titles to his name: six in singles and nine in doubles.