ATP Finals 2023: Horacio Zeballos-Marcel Granollers vs Rajeev Ram-Joe Salisbury Preview, head-to-head, prediction

Ram/Salisbury are the defending champions and will look to defend their title.

Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will attempt to defend their title when they meet fifth seeds Horacio Zeballos/Marcel Granollers in the doubles final of the ATP Finals 2023 on Sunday (November 19).

The British-American partnership has been a fruitful one for Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram. The pair have won three titles in the current season at Lyon, Flushing Meadows, and Vienna. Additionally, they got to the semifinals of the Paris Masters, losing to Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Salisbury and Ram carry the mantle of defending champions at the Nitto ATP Finals 2023. They defeated the all-Croation pair of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in straight sets in last year’s competition. 

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have won a sole title in 2023, the Shanghai Masters. They faced off against Indo-Australian pair Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden and won. Granollers and Zeballos met Bopanna/Ebden in a repeat of their summit clash at the Paris Masters quarterfinal, which the Argentine-Spanish duo lost.

Horacio Zeballos-Marcel Granollers vs Rajeev Ram-Joe Salisbury Preview

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have maintained an unbeaten streak in the Nitto ATP Finals 2023 and finished on top of the Green Group. They defeated the fourth-seed pair of Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the semifinals and second-seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in the round-robin stage. 

The other doubles team contending for the title, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, likewise finished on top of the Green Group, dropping only one set on the way. Granollers and Zeballos, seeded fifth, defeated Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in the semi-final. They also came out victorious over top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the group stage en route to the final. 

Head-to-head records

Matches Played – 8

Horacio Zeballos/Marcel Granollers – 3

Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury – 5

Horacio Zeballos/Marcel Granollers and Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury last met on the red clay of Rome, an ATP Masters event, which was won by the Spanish-Argentine duo. It is the ninth occasion these two doubles teams will be facing each other since 2019 and for the second time at the Nitto ATP Finals event.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury prevailed that year in the group stage. Granollers and Zeballos have an opportunity to end the season in the top spot if they win the title.

Where and how to watch live streaming and TV broadcast of Horacio Zeballos/Marcel Granollers vs Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury, ATP Finals 2023, summit clash in India?

Tennis enthusiasts eager to watch defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury take a shot at their second ATP Finals consecutive trophy can turn to Sony Ten 5 SD/HD channel for the doubles final at the prestigious year-ending tournament. Live streaming of the final is possible via the Sony Liv app or website. 

Prediction

Horacio Zeballos/Marcel Granollers vs Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury summit clash is evenly poised based on their current ranking and form, and both teams stand a chance to win the men's doubles title at the ATP Finals 2023. 

Granollers and Zeballos have played in the semifinal stage of the ATP Finals twice before, in 2020 and 2021.  The 2023 edition is their third appearance together and their first final at the year-end event. Marcel Granollers had lifted the ATP Finals trophy in 2023, while partnering Marc Lopez.

Ram and Salisbury will look to be the first doubles team to win back-to-back ATP Finals titles since 2016-17 when Henri Kontinen and John Peers achieved the rare double.  The sixth seeds are in the ATP Finals as a team for the fourth year in a row and have reached the finals twice in 2021 and 2022.