This afternoon, with partner Marcelo Arevalo, Mate Pavic lifted his fourth trophy in Geneva! The Croatian player has a real soft spot for the lakeside city. What is more, the 2021 Olympic champion has now won the doubles tournament with three different partners. “I feel at home here. It’s a very special feeling… In recent years, when we were planning our schedule, I told all of my different partners that I had just one condition: we can do whatever you like, but I want to go to Geneva,” he laughed. A smiling Marcelo added, “Only this morning he was piling on the pressure, saying that he was unbeaten on centre court at the Gonet Geneva Open! I think he wants to become the next Rafael Nadal of the tournament and win it fifteen times if he can!”
However, the winning pair did not have an easy ride this afternoon. Marcelo Arevalo and the now four-time winner of the tournament (2018 and 2019 with Oliver Marach, then 2022 with Nikola Mektic) took almost two hours to defeat the Salvadorian’s former teammate, Jean-Julien Rojer, and his partner Lloyd Glasspool, 7-6 (2) 7-5. “It’s true that the match was very close, there were not a lot of opportunities on either side. In the end, I think what made the difference was that we were slightly better in the pivotal moments,” analysed Mate Pavic after the match.
