Santiago Gonzalez is celebrating another title…
The 40-year-old Mexican professional player and his men’s doubles partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have extended their late-season winning streak to eight to clinch the title at the Paris Masters.
The seventh-seeded duo defeated Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-2, 5-7, 10-7 to lift the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the French capital.
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin converted both break points they earned to claim the victory, holding firm after dropping their first set of the week in the championship match in Paris.
“The set we lost, it’s totally my fault. I did a pretty bad game in the second set, but Santi helped a lot at the changeover,” said home favorite Roger-Vasselin. “[He said] ‘It’s OK, we’re just going to fight every point and enjoy the crowd’. For me it’s super special to win here in Paris, so I’m really thankful to Santi. He played amazing all week, and I’m really happy to win this trophy here.”
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin, who also lifted the trophy in Basel a week ago, defeated the second, third and fourth-seeded pairs en route to their second Masters 1000 crown of the year.
The duo has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where the pair will enter the prestigious season finale on a high.
“The last two weeks were amazing, ending the year like this and now going to Turin with confidence,” said Gonzalez. “We are happy to win our second Masters title of this year, so we are very pleased about it and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin are now 51-21 in their first full season together on the ATP Tour.
They became champions in Marseille, Miami and Los Cabos prior to their Basel and Paris triumphs, and will enter Turin in fourth in the ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.