El Salvador’s Marcelo Arévalo and Croatian partner Mate Pavić began their ATP Finals campaign with a 7–6 (7), 6–4 victory over France’s Theo Arribagé and Albano Olivetti on Sunday. The fourth-seeded pair recovered from a 2–0 deficit in the second set to win their opening match in the Todd Woodbridge Group at Turin’s Inalpi Arena. The match lasted one hour and 27 minutes.
Arévalo and Pavić had to work through a tense first set before taking control. They missed five chances to win the set, including four in the tiebreaker, but eventually claimed it 9–7. The French pair responded by breaking early in the second set. Arévalo and Pavić fought back, winning six of the next eight games to finish the match in straight sets.
The final numbers showed how close it was. Arévalo and Pavić won just five more points than their opponents but converted two of their four break-point chances. The win gives the Salvadoran-Croatian team a strong start in a tournament where one loss does not mean elimination. The eight doubles teams are divided into two groups of four, and each pair plays the other three teams in its group.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals. Also in their group are defending champions Harri Heliövaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Britain, and Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos. Heliövaara and Patten won their opening match Sunday, beating the Brazilians 6–3, 5–7, 10–4.
Arévalo and Pavić are seeking their first ATP Finals title together. They reached the final in 2024 and return to Turin as one of the more experienced teams in the field. This is Arévalo’s fifth appearance at the year-end event and Pavić’s ninth. Their opponents on Sunday were making their ATP Finals debut after winning six doubles titles during the season.
Arévalo and Pavić still have two group matches to play. The semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 21, with the doubles final on Nov. 22.
