Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos advanced to the title match at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time together on Saturday to keep their Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone hopes alive.
The fifth seeds overcame Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-5, 6-4 after one hour and 20 minutes in Turin.
Granollers and Zeballos are making their fourth appearance together at the year-end event, where they lost in the semi-finals in 2020 and 2021. They will look to go all the way on Sunday when they meet defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury or fourth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
"We are very happy," Granollers said. "It is our third semi-final here at the Finals and we are happy to be in the final this time. We will try to enjoy the match and play our best tennis."
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The Spanish-Argentine team are up to third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings and will end the season in first place if they win the title in Turin. Already-eliminated Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek are currently first. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin can also finish the year in top spot if they win the trophy. Bopanna and Ebden are now out of the race.
"We tried to think that every match was a final because every match was against a great team," Zeballos said on their run. "We tried to be positive and offensive and it is working so far so we will try the same tomorrow."
Earlier this season, Granollers and Zeballos clinched the crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. Granollers, 37, is chasing his second title at the year-end event having triumphed with Marc Lopez in 2012.
Competing inside the Pala Alpitour, Granollers and Zeballos were comfortable on serve and were clinical on return in crucial moments. They pounced on two inconsistent serving games from Ebden, one in each set, to earn victory.
