PARIS, June 6 – Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos captured their second consecutive French Open men’s doubles championship on Saturday, defeating Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, to secure their third Grand Slam victory as a team.
The Spanish-Argentine partnership of Granollers and Zeballos, who first began competing together in 2019, earned French Open and U.S. Open championships last year and lived up to their number one seeding by completing their 2026 Roland Garros run without losing a single set.
Heliovaara from Finland had difficulties with his service game during the match, while the second-seeded team, who have also captured two Grand Slam tournaments together, found it challenging to match their rivals’ precisely executed shots from positions near the net.
“I’m 41 years old (and) this is one of the best moments of my career. So it’s never too late for anybody,” said Zeballos, whose partner, Granollers, is 40.
The defending champions secured their first service break in the third game when Heliovaara committed a double fault. While the second seeds managed to break back and level the score at 3-3, Granollers delivered two forehand winners to break serve in the following game, shifting momentum back toward the top-seeded pair.
Patten from Britain started the second set with two unforced errors and a double fault, allowing Granollers and Zeballos to break serve again. The Argentine player then struck winners throughout the court to build a 3-0 advantage that their challengers could not overcome.
“Sorry guys, wasn’t the best, but thank you,” Patten, 30, told his family and friends in the stands. “Harri, thanks for being my partner. We’re going to bounce back stronger, we know that,” he said of the 37-year-old Finn.
