Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

Marcelo Arevalo Interview: The Highs & Lows of Winning a Major

• Will Boucek • Episode 184

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0:00 | 26:33
Marcelo Arevalo is a top 10 doubles player on the ATP Tour who recently won Roland Garros for the second time in three years. In this episode, he shares his experience winning the French Open again.

One of the things that makes tennis so difficult is the sustained focus required to win. This can create mental fatigue and stress. Marcelo doesn't dance around that topic in this episode. Instead of the typical canned responses you hear during post-match interviews, he shares how difficult it was during and after winning the tournament.

He also explains:

  • A strategic adjustment he and his partner, Mate Pavic, made to turn around their semifinal match against the top seeds after dropping the first set.
  • What he's learned from his new partner, a 7x major champion himself, this year.
  • His thoughts on how to make doubles more popular.

If you're not a Marcelo fan yet, you will be after. He's an incredibly positive and generous guy with great energy on the court. Vamos Chelo!

See the shownotes for this episode here: https://www.thetennistribe.com/marcelo-arevalo-interview/

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Winning a Major

Speaker 1

Marcelo Arevalo is a top 10 doubles player on the ATP Tour and he is coming off his second French Open title alongside his partner, matej Pavic. Marcelo joined me for about 20 minutes the other day and we talked about the two weeks during their title run in Paris for his second Roland Garros title run in Paris for his second Roland Garros title and one of the things I really loved about this conversation is how Marcelo didn't give me the kind of generic answers you would expect maybe in an on-court interview after the match. He talked about both the highs and the lows of winning a major title and it really takes a lot of sustained mental focus, which creates a lot of stress. Obviously, there's a ton of physical preparation as well to win a major. You have to sustain this for two full weeks and he talked a lot about that, so you're really going to get a good sense of what it takes to win a major at the pro level.

Speaker 1

After that, we talked a little bit about his semifinal match, where they faced the top seeds who they had just lost to a few weeks before in Rome in straight sets, and then they lost the first set in Paris as well, and he made. He and his partner, mate, made some specific adjustments that he talks about to turn that match around, win the second and third set and advance to the finals. After that we discussed his pre-match preparation, what that looked like in Paris, what that looked like for the finals, including meals that he had before matches, the day of matches, what his warm-up looks like a little bit, and what he has learned this season from Matej Povic, his new doubles partner. And then at the end, we also discuss, of course, how to make doubles more popular. So, without further delay, enjoy this brief 20-minute conversation with French Open champion Marcelo Arevalo. Hey everyone, welcome to the show. Today we have two-time Roland Garros champion, marcelo Arevalo on, marcelo, welcome.

Speaker 2

Hi Will, how are you? Thank you, thank you for having me.

Speaker 1

I'm good Excited for this conversation. Glad we're getting to chat. So you're into grass court season now. You're coming off of your second Roland Garros title. Talk a little bit about what the two weeks were like for you in Paris.

Speaker 2

I like your hat, by the way. Thank you, I just got it from.

Speaker 1

Tennis Warehouse. It's a good one. I just got it from Tennis Warehouse.

Speaker 2

It's a good one. Yeah, I mean, those two weeks were amazing. You know, one of the, of course, one of the best weeks in my tennis career with 2022, of course, also a lot of emotions, but also a lot of stress going on. I think a lot of people don't see, let's say, the other side of the movie, whatever you want to call it Behind the scenes, yeah, exactly Like the behind the scenes.

Speaker 2

You know like it's nice that you, you winning matches and you know like you competing every day, but, uh, behind the scenes, there is a lot of work also that it has to be done, uh, in order to perform uh well every match or every day. You know like you got to keep doing all the routines. You know you got to stay healthy. You got to eat well. You got to keep practicing hard every day.

Speaker 2

You know like you get a day off, but it's not really a day off. You got to get ready for the next matchup, you know, and got to put those hours and, yeah, and adjust quickly to a different team, you know. So there is a lot going on and, yeah, it's basically from day one until the last day. If you make it to the final it, like you, you gotta be connected 100, you know in in, uh, in the in the tournament there is there is no space to to distractions if you, if you really want to want to perform uh well at your 100. So yeah, as I said, it was a lot of great emotions, uh beautiful moments on the court of the courts, court with the family, with wife, with my parents, with my kids, but also a lot of stress and yeah, but at the end of the two weeks everything paid off.

Speaker 1

Yeah, so how do you? I imagine you know I've played at a much lower level adult tournaments and it's difficult for me mentally to stay kind of locked in for several days in a row during a tournament. But you have to do this for two weeks, like you're talking about, and there's so much mental stress. I would imagine after it is over you're obviously excited to win, but also kind of relieved that the two weeks are over. Um, how do you feel after a tournament like that and how do you go about kind of resetting your mind and giving your mind a break?

Speaker 2

yeah, actually, uh, I was pretty exhausted after the final, uh, the day before. Uh. It's crazy, though, because when you, when you're playing, and that you know that you're playing the next day, or or or that you're still in the tournament, like your mind is is like it's like so connected, so focused, so dial in that you're still in the tournament, like your mind is like so connected, so focused, so dialed in that you know like the mind is telling your body like to stay strong, basically, you know. But as soon as the tournament is done, or like the two weeks are over, and you know like, thanks God, we ended up winning the title title this time but the next day after the final, I woke up and I was literally, I was starting to get sick.

Speaker 2

You know like I started having like kind of like runny nose. Uh, my throat was kind of like uh hurting a little bit, you know, and then for like probably for for like three, four days, uh, I was, I was sick, I was kind of like getting kind of like a, like a, like a little flu kind of thing, you know, and I, I, I feel that it was my body, you know like just just like releasing all that uh stress from those two weeks. You know that finally, uh, the mind kind of like let go a little bit, so the body kind of like relax, you know, and then kind of like I don't know if the immune system like goes down a little bit and then you're more, you know, like you, you, you you get vulnerable you know, and then yeah, but it was like for the next three days, four days after the, the final, I was, I was not feeling my best, you know, healthy, wise.

Overcoming Tough Opponents in Doubles

Speaker 2

But after that, you know, like, you start, like you start to to refocus again, do you start to connect again Because there are more tournaments coming, grass season is just around the corner after the French Open. So so now I I'm feeling great again, you know, like now my, my mind is connect with my body and I'm ready to to go again. But but yeah, I mean, those days after those long two weeks is it's pretty, it's pretty hard. You know, like, uh, it's kind of like a, like a release and yeah, you gotta, you gotta be prepared because you, you don't know how your body is gonna react after those two weeks. Maybe my body is different. Everybody, uh, you know, can react different, but the way I reacted it was like I, I was kind of like feeling a little bit, a little bit sick and and uh, stuff like that, you know.

Speaker 1

How did that compare to the 2022, uh title you had? Was it a similar experience, where you're kind of stressed during the two weeks trying to maintain that focus and then your body was kind of in shock a little bit afterwards? Or was it different?

Speaker 2

it was a little bit different. I tell you why because after the 2022 uh, the day after I, I flew to el salvador and you know like, as soon as I got to el salvador, you know like I, I started meeting like a lot of people. It was my first grandlam and a lot of people was, you know like, receiving me. I had the big honor that the president also wanted to meet me.

Speaker 2

So you know all those things kept my adrenaline up, you know. You know so, for like five, six days, seven days after the final in 2022, my mind was just keep running, keep running, keep running. You know like the whole time. But then I felt kind of like the same way when I started playing. You know, I remember we went that year after the French Open, so I went back to El Salvador and then we played Halle, the 500, which is the same week as this one in Queens and I remember not feeling at my best during that week. You know like similar thing. You know like my body was not reacting. I felt a little bit lazy. I was like fighting with my body to to wake up and go to practice. You know stuff like that. So, yeah, I feel like like in 2022 it got me a little bit later just because I had all those activities in the suburb and I was super excited to see my family and and and friends and everybody.

Speaker 1

You know that makes sense. So I want to get into uh kind of the matches specifically. So, um, I want to talk about the semi-final match. Actually, uh, you played uh marcel granollers and jerez field zeballos they had had beaten you in Rome a few weeks earlier. They beat you in the first set, and then you come back and win in a third set. What did you do to turn that around? Obviously without giving up any game plans or anything like that, but is there anything specific that kind of turned things around for you and got you through that match along with Mate?

Speaker 2

Definitely. You know, for us, I think, and for basically for everybody, granollers and Ceballos were the team that was hot in the moment. You know, like they were cleaning everybody. You know, in the past weeks I remember they won Rome, but also during Madrid, they reached the semifinal and they didn't play the semifinal because one of them was a little bit injured, but they didn't lose so and then they arrived to Roland Garros. Basically, they didn't drop a set until the semifinals, of course. So they were, they were playing great tennis. You know like for me, they were like the favorite team to win the title, the title.

Speaker 2

And when we lost the first set, you know I remember telling Mate, you know, like there is nothing to lose here. You know like these guys are playing great. You know they're playing great tennis. It's not like we're not playing well. You know like we were playing well, but those guys, they just run over us. They were just better players in that moment.

Speaker 2

And in the second set, I remember that I had a little bit of a different mindset. I started going for a little bigger on my serves, on my returns, a little bit more aggressive, and things were just working out for me and Mate. We both were a little bit, let's say, over the limit and luckily our shots were going in. And I think that's the amazing part when you face that's the amazing part when you face I would call the best team of the moment. They push you to go over the limit to have that slight chance to beat them. And I think that's what we did with Mate. We realized in that moment that doing the same thing, we would probably lose the second set 6-2 or 6-3, as we did the past three sets, because in Rome we lost 6-2, 6-2, and then the first set. There it was also 6-2 or 6-3. 6-3, I think, yeah. So we had to go over the limit and you know, for our luck, as I said, our shots were going in. And then we just kept that belief, we just kept that mindset, you know.

Speaker 2

And then in the third set I think it was a complete battle, it was a dogfight, you know like one. The third set, I think it was. It was a completely battle, it was, it was a dog fight, you know, like one point here and there I changed everything. We were opposite.

Embracing Routines and Partnerships

Speaker 2

Early in the third set, they, uh, they broke back, and then we broke again, I think at four, uh, uh, four, uh, five, five, or or like four, four, four I cannot even remember at this point and yeah, and then we served for the set, but then we sorry, serving for the match, we faced break point and then deuce, and then break point and then deuce and then match point, and then we ended up winning the match with that kind of like like a volley that I kind of like hit with the frame and then it ended up being like kind of like a volley that I kind of like hit with the frame and then it ended up being like kind of like angle shot. So you know, it was a completely battle, you know, but I think those guys really really push our limits and then we did it. We did it, you know, but for our credit, you know, we, we had the, the let's say that we were brave enough to to go over the limit. Yeah, that in those important moments, you know.

Speaker 1

Yeah, a lot of times it comes down to bravery on the doubles court for sure. So I want to talk about the finals as well, and actually between semifinals and finals, how did you prepare for the finals and talk a little bit about in general how you prepare for big matches like that. Is there anything specific that you like to do? Are you superstitious? Do you have a meal you eat every time before matches? What does your preparation look like?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I mean, it's not that I have played many Grand Slam finals. I had the experience of the 2022, and I tried to keep it simple. I tried to kind of remember a little bit what I did, or what we did in 2022. And it was pretty simple. You know like get a good meal, try to sleep as early as possible to recover the body. You know like to wake up fresh the next day. We didn't have much time, honestly, to prepare, because we played on Friday and the final was Saturday, because we were a little bit behind schedule.

Speaker 2

Just for you to know, we were playing quarterfinals and the other guys were already in the final yeah so, um, they had like two days uh before the final and yeah, we play uh that day the quarterfinal, and then we play. So we play thursday, friday, saturday, so we play three days in a row, and so we, you know, we didn't have much, much time to kind of like to overthink, and I think that probably was a good thing, because sometimes when you have so much time, you know like, you kind of like overthink and then you know, maybe, uh, you can get out yourself, yeah, yeah, you can get a little bit nervous. You know, and and and for us it was like, you know like, we, we, we won quarterfinals. Okay, tomorrow we play again 2 pm. You know. So, let's do recovery, good dinner, let's go to sleep, and then tomorrow we're ready to go again.

Speaker 2

Semi-final was the same team. You know like we won the semi-final. Uh, let's get uh recovery room, you know like physio, and get ready for uh, for tomorrow's uh final. You know, so we didn't, we, we didn't have too much time to think about it, you know. So it was more, we were going with the flow, you know, and, and probably that was something good that it happened to, but I made sure that I had a good meal. I was eating the same thing at dinner for two weeks, a little bit superstitious about it. What was the meal? My coach is Italian, so we were making pomodoro pasta every night.

Speaker 1

Okay.

Speaker 2

And every morning I was sitting on the same chair with my coffee, reading my book for 10, 15 minutes before going to the courts. So that was my kind of like my morning routine Same breakfast, you know, some scrambled eggs, avocado, and yeah, and after that that coffee, and then we will. We will go to the courts, some scrambled eggs, avocado, and yeah, and after that that coffee, and then we will go to the courts and just do the warmup. So, basically, I was focused on my routines. You know, like that kept me focused, that kept me feeling secure about myself, and yeah, and then the only thing it was in our control before the final, it was just go out there and fight as hard as you can. You know, try to execute well in the important moments, and I think we did that amazingly in the final. I think we executed well when we had to and and that's why, uh, we were able to, uh to win that match yeah, the big points were huge, especially a lot of uh, your returns.

Speaker 1

I think you had two, three, four return winners on some of those big points. You're really hitting those well. So two more questions for you, and then I know you got to run so new partnership this year with Matej Pavic. What is something you've learned from Matej on the double score? It can be something strategic or tactical, or it can be something mental or in his preparation.

Speaker 2

Um, anything that you've learned from him I think mate uh, we all know he's one of the greatest uh doubles players. You know like he has become, I think, the fifth or the sixth guy to achieve uh the korean, the career slam, plus the olympics, plus uh Davis Cup. So I think that's an amazing achievement. Only five, six guys can brag about it. But besides that, I think he's a big competitor. He's a big competitor.

Speaker 2

Once he's on the court and the match is on, he's going to fight. He's going to fight. He's going to fight every point until the end, no matter what the score is in that moment. He's always ready to compete, he's ready to fight and I think that's something that I have learned about him. You know, like, when it matters, he's there. You know like you can, you can feel him, you can, you can make sure that he's going to be with you when, when, when the match gets tight, you know, like, when you have to to play an important point, he's gonna, he's gonna be there with you.

Speaker 2

You know, and that's something that for me it's a nice thing, especially in Dovo, because sometimes it happens that one of the team is not playing his best, but then if you have a good partner that is always pushing you and is always motivating you and sending you that good energy. In that moment, you kind of like feel that you need to match, that you need to copy. That you know, instead of like sometimes if you're not playing well and then your partner, you know it's not connected with you, you kind of feel like you're going uh, worse and worse and worse. You know, and and that's something that I, that I feel playing with, uh, uh, with market, that he's, he's he's always there, ready to to compete, even if if I'm not having a good day, you know like he's always ready, you know, and he's always pushing and everything.

Speaker 1

Yeah. So last question for you how do we make doubles more popular?

Celebrating Second Roland Garros Victory

Speaker 2

That's a great question and I think that's something that we all doubles players would like or love to see, you know, because I think a lot of people really enjoy watching Dovos and I think we all need to try to get together. You know like Dovos players get together and somehow try to create some sort of like a union or like a team, you know, and you know like somehow try to all together. You know, like go on social media, post good things about Davos. You know, like how many crazy points you've seen on the Grand Slams or like every tournament, you know there is always a crazy point like Boli to Boli, and then you know crazy returns, you know things like that that unfortunately you don't like fans don't get to see those points, you know. But I think if we all doubles players, you know, could get access to those clips, to those videos, you know, and we start posting all those amazing points and exciting points, I think maybe that's just a way for fans to engage a little bit more with doubles, you know.

Speaker 1

Yeah, totally agree Also, marcelo. Thank you so much for joining me. Congratulations again on your second Roland Garros title and hopefully we can chat again soon.

Speaker 2

Thank you, will. I appreciate for your time. And you know, as you always say, you know, let's watch more doubles, you know, yeah absolutely Thanks again.