Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
PARIS – Argentine Horacio Zeballos’ recipe for reaching his first doubles final at Roland Garros is to fantasize about the Davis Cup.
“I’ll be honest—in the semis, when the crowd was cheering for our opponents and you could hear the roars from the stands, I tried to imagine I was playing Davis Cup. That’s when the lion inside me comes out. I feel like I’m representing Argentina and I give it everything I’ve got. ‘Davis Cup attitude, Davis Cup attitude,’ I kept telling myself,” he told CLAY and RG Media in Paris.
Overcoming Semifinal Ghosts
The left-hander, playing alongside Spaniard Marcel Granollers, had failed three times before. They lost in the semifinals in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Zeballos admitted that it had been playing on his mind.
After defeating France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Monaco’s Hugo Nys, Zeballos spoke about the mental work they’ve done to reach this long-awaited goal.
“We’ve been doing some serious psychological work to try to cope with this kind of pressure. If you’d told me I’d only reach semifinals for the rest of my career, I’d have signed off on that. But after the second, third time, you start wanting a little more. That ends up working against you—it becomes an extra weight that demands huge mental effort and a lot of teamwork,” admitted the world No. 11 in doubles.
Revitalized by Davis Cup Return
Returning to Argentina’s Davis Cup team has also brought him relief. Being able to represent his country again gave him a sense of renewal. Captain Javier Frana selected him in February for the tie against Norway, after Zeballos had been left out of previous series—and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games—even while ranked No. 1 in the world.
How will the Argentine and the Spaniard prepare for their first final on the clay of Paris? Two key things: the first is to enjoy a milestone moment in their careers. The second is to “truly believe” in themselves and be convinced they can finally win their first Grand Slam.
Sebastián Varela
Journalist. Founder of CLAY, a global tennis media platform. Since 2012, Sebastián has covered multiple international events for various sports outlets, including the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Tennis is his specialty, and his yearly calendar is built around four essential stops: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. His love of travel has also shaped his work beyond sports, inspiring travel chronicles from unique journeys — like crossing the Australian desert in a van or exploring a tourist-free Japan during the pandemic — published in travel magazines.
