A final full of surprises

The final day of the 53rd edition of the ABN AMRO Open kicks off at 1:00 PM with the doubles final. Italy’s Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will defend their title on Centre Court against the surprise pair Ray Ho and Hendrik Jebens, who made their way up from the qualifiers last Sunday.

Taiwanese player Ray Ho (25) and German Hendrik Jebens (30) celebrated their 6-3, 1-6, 11-9 victory over the top-seeded duo Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic as if they had already won the tournament. Their semifinal victory dance was understandable. Ho and Jebens began playing doubles together on the ATP Tour this year, and their partnership has been very successful. Including the matches in the qualifiers, the duo has already recorded five wins in Rotterdam. "It’s amazing to play in front of an almost full Ahoy,” said Jebens, who previously played doubles a few times with Robin Haase. "The atmosphere gives us energy. And then to beat one of the best doubles teams in the world after a fantastic tie’break is incredible.” Ray Ho beamed from head to toe: "I’m speechless. One more match to go, and maybe a big dream will come true.”

However, their opponents on the other side of the net will be an incredibly tough challenge to overcome. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori are ranked 21st and 22nd in the world in doubles. The Italians have won seven ATP titles over the past two years, and another tournament victory is well within reach. Bolelli and Vavassori had their hands full in the semifinals against the surprisingly strong Germans Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner, who pushed them into a deciding tie-break. The fourth seeds sealed their win: 7-6(5), 3-6, 10-7, "That was a tough match,” sighed Bolelli. "It was very close, and with a super tie-break, anything can happen. At the end, we played just a bit more aggressively. This is a fantastic tournament, and we’ll do our best to defend the title.”