Gonzalez (in purple) wins the biggest title of his career, while Vasselin wins the 2nd Masters
Photo: Miami Open
Miami (USA) – The doubles final in Miami had a special flavor for the Mexican Santiago Gonzalez, an experienced 40-year-old player, who celebrated his first Masters 1000 of his career. Gonzalez and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin won the title after beating American Austin Krajicek and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
With a long experience on the doubles circuit, Santiago Gonzalez achieved his twentieth ATP title and the second with Vasselin. Together, they had been champions on the hard and covered courts of Marseille in February. His French partner, 39, now has 25 achievements. Vasselin previously won the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in 2015 alongside Canadian Daniel Nestor.
During Miami’s victorious campaign, Gonzalez and Vasselin eliminated three title contenders. Highlight for the quarter-final triumph over the top seeds, the Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and the Briton Neal Skupski. They also beat Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentinian Horacio Zeballos on their debut, seeded 7 in the tournament, and advanced to the round of 16 by Colombians Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, winners of two Grand Slam tournaments.
Maiden Masters 1000 duo title 🏆@gonzalezsanty And @ERogerVasselin beat Krajicek/Mahut 7-6(4) 7-5 to win the Miami doubles title!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ZpOS24nevA
—Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 1, 2023
“If you had asked me three or four years ago, I would have said that at 40 I would think about quitting playing tennis. But in the last two years I have been playing at a very good level , probably my best in the last 10 or 15 years,” Gonzalez said in an interview with the ATP website. The Mexican reached five finals last year, winning two tournaments alongside Argentinian Andres Molteni and finishing second in Indian Wells alongside Vasselin. Always alongside the Frenchman, he made the Cincinnati semi-final.
“After the good results we had in Indian Wells and Cincinnati, beating so many good teams, we knew we could beat anyone,” said the Mexican. “At the end of the year I had a conversation with Eddie: ‘We played well together, maybe we can try next year’. It’s working well so far. Hopefully this is just the beginning and we can continue.”
🏆 x25 for @ERogerVasselin
🏆 x20 for @gonzalezsanty
🏆 x2 for them as a couple🇲🇽 ¡Viva Mexico/Vive la France! 🇬🇧#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/wEXW0po3h7
—Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 1, 2023
