Just more than 24 hours after Marcelo Arevalo claimed his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros alongside Jean Julien-Rojer, he was already back in his home country of El Salvador to receive a range of accolades. The Salvadoran visited the Presidential House, the Legislative Palace and the national tennis federation, all of which honoured him for his achievement in Paris.

Arévalo, who is up to a career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, was welcomed on Thursday by Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador. “For me it was very emotional to see that the president of my country wanted to meet me and recognise the biggest triumph of my career,” Arévalo told ATPTour.com. “It’s a sign of his commitment to our Salvadoran sport.”

Bukele congratulated Arévalo on the victory that lifted him and Rojer up to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings and made him the first Central American doubles player in history to win a Grand Slam title. The message was clear on the president’s social media: “Thank you for the joy and pride you gave all of us Salvadorans. I’m sure there will be more success in your career and we’ll always be there to support you.”

The leader also personally referenced a couple of moments from the Paris final. “He told me he’d seen the match and mentioned two points that we won. One where I hit it from on the ground and another where I dived for the ball,” Arevalo said. “It was a wonderful experience and we chatted a bit about everything.”

In addition to the praise at the presidential residence, Arévalo was also named a Worthy Son of El Salvador by the president of the Legislative Assembly, Representative Ernesto Castro, who said, “I’m happy to be here to honour the career of an exceptional man, who has given us one of the most important gifts in our sport.”

The 31-year-old, who was born in Sonsonate, spoke of his immense gratitude during the ceremony at the Legislative Palace. But the homages did not end there. The previous day, he had received recognition from the National Sports Institute (INDES). “We high-performance athletes have been supported in recent years thanks to the management of this institution,” Arevalo said.

Before leaving on Friday for the ATP Tour’s grass swing, Arévalo visited the Salvadoran Tennis Federation, presided by his brother Rafael, where he finished his tennis training. There he received a commemorative trophy, signed autographs and promised, before a crowd of children, to help more compatriots follow in his footsteps as a professional tennis player.

During the 2017 NBA preseason, Roger Federer linked up with the Golden State Warriors ahead of a game in Shanghai. The Swiss legend’s visit left a lasting impression on Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Kerr explained in a press conference the similarities he sees between Federer and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, a two-time NBA MVP and three-time champion.

Asked how Curry maintains peak conditioning at age 34, Kerr described the consistency of Curry’s routine as key, including time in the training room, weight room and on the court.

“It’s clockwork,” Kerr said,” but there’s also a sense of joy and energy within that work. He enjoys it so much. He loves the process.

“I think that’s one of the things that ties all great athletes together — the superstar athletes, the Roger Federer’s of the world, the Steph Curry’s of the world. There’s a routine that is not only super disciplined, but it’s really enjoyed each day.

“There’s a passion that comes with it, and that’s what sustains it over time. When you love something like those guys do, you work at it, you get better and you just keep going.”

Looking back on his team’s meeting with Federer in Shanghai, Kerr recalled a question asked by Warriors forward Draymond Green, who wondered how Federer has stayed at the top of the ATP Tour for 20 years.

“His answer was simple, yet profound,” Kerr shared. “He said, ‘I love my daily ritual. I get up and make my kids breakfast, drop them off at school and go train. I’ve figured out the right training methods to keep me in the best position at my age. I love competing, but every single day I put my head on the pillow and I just think, man, what a great day.’

“I think of Steph a lot when I think of that story from Roger Federer. Very similar zest for life and joy for the process.”

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah bounced back from a first-round Roland Garros exit to win a Match Tie-break Monday at the Cinch Championships. The fourth-seeded Colombians edged qualifiers Andre Goransson and Ben McLachlan, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4, at The Queen’s Club in London to return to winning ways.

Each team broke serve once in the contest, with Cabal and Farah creating four break chances while facing just one break point against them.

The victory sets up a quarter-final showdown against Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov, after the Indian-Canadian duo dismissed Diego Schwartzman and Pedro Martinez, 7-6(6), 6-4. 

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In their quarter-final meeting, Cabal and Farah will seek consecutive victories for the first time since their run to the Mutua Madrid Open final in early May. Bopanna and Shapovalov lost in the first round in Madrid but reached the semi-finals last week in Stuttgart in their first event as a pair since the ATP Masters 1000 in the Spanish capital.

Going The Distance In Halle

At the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, both doubles matches on the Monday slate were decided by Match Tie-breaks. Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni defeated Aslan Karatsev and Karen Khachanov, 6-7(4), 6-2, 10-8, while Andrey Golubev and Maximo Gonzalez downed Hubert Hurkacz and Sebastian Korda, 6-2, 6-7(2), 10-2.

Grigor Dimitrov came from behind to upset home favourite Cameron Norrie Monday at the Cinch Championships, scoring a 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4 victory over the third seed at The Queen’s Club in London.

The unseeded Bulgarian, playing in his first event since a third-round run at Roland Garros, started strong on the grass but still found himself a set down as Great Britain’s Norrie dominated the opening-set tie-break by winning the final four points in a row.

But Dimitrov maintained his strong form on serve — he did not face a break point until the third set, when he saved all four against him — and began to make inroads on return as the match progressed. After dominating the second set, Dimitrov scored the lone break of the third in the set’s fifth game. He escaped 0/40 to hold for 5-3, then served it out after seeing a match point go begging on the return.

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It’s the World No. 22’s first ATP Head2Head victory over Norrie following straight-sets defeats at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Indian Wells last season.

Dimitrov could face another Briton next, if qualifier Paul Jubb gets past Botic van de Zandschulp.

Marin Cilic, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in his last outing, knocked out Great Britain’s Liam Broady, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, to close the day’s play in London. The seventh seed was headed for a routine victory, up a set and a break, but lost command of his serve midway through the second to hand Broady a lifeline.

After conceding two breaks in three shaky service games to close the second, Cilic regrouped in the third. He cruised to three love holds in the decider, dropping just four points on serve in the set, and earned the crucial break with Broady serving at 5-5.

“It was entertaining, I have to say. And a little bit nerve-wracking,” assessed Cilic. “It’s not easy. First match of the tournament, first match on the grass. [Broady] fought really hard… he came back and gave me a lot of trouble.”

The two-time Queen’s Club champion, who called the event “the best week of the year”, next faces Alexander Bublik. The 24-year-old took a 6-3 opening set against Lorenzo Musetti before the #NextGenATP Italian retired following a fall.

Pablo Carreno Busta made a winning start to his grass-court season with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory against #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune Monday at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.

The sixth-seeded Spaniard bounced back from a first-round loss to Gilles Simon at Roland Garros by beating surprise Paris quarter-finalist Rune, who was playing his first tour-level match on grass.

Carreno Busta saved five break points in the third game of the contest, then broke his 19-year-old opponent immediately after to edge in front in the opening set. He did not face another break point in the one-hour, 47-minute match.

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The Spaniard had two break points at both 4-4 and 5-5 in the second and led 5/2 in the tie-break, but needed to win the final two points of the match to close from 5/5. He improves to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Rune following a three-set win in the 2021 Metz quarter-finals.

Rune, who entered the Halle event at a career-high of No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, saved six of seven break points against the World No 19.

Carreno Busta advances to face Sebastian Korda or Cristian Garin. Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and wild card Nick Kyrgios loom as potential quarter-final opponents.