Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic held their nerve on Wednesday to return from the brink and come off the edge at the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals.
The fourth-seeded duo completed a perfect year in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Christian Harrison and Evan King on Wednesday night in Turin, recording a thrilling 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 13-11 victory. Arevalo and Pavic saved two match points in the Match Tie-break to earn their fourth win in as many tour-level encounters with Harrison and King in 2025.
and breathe?@CheloArevaloATP and Mate Pavic save two match points as they squeak past Harrison/King to claim their first win in the John McEnroe Group! #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/8iRcWxfEWd
— ATP tour (@atptour) November 12, 2025
“It definitely gives you a boost. No matter how you feel on the court, after a win like this it definitely gives you confidence and motivation and keeps you in the tournament, which is the most important thing,” Arevalo said. “This match was crucial for me and Mate to continue surviving in the tournament.
“It was right on the edge and it fell to our side, so we are happy and now we just have to recover and prepare for Friday’s game.”
A hard-fought encounter lasting an hour and 51 minutes came to an exciting climax at the Inalpi Arena. Having already dropped their first match point upon returning on 10/9, King stepped to the line to serve on his and Harrison’s second match point on 11/10. The left-hander sent down what he thought was an ace and started celebrating, but it was called a let. King then suffered a crucial double fault, and Arevalo and Pavic took the next two points to move to 1–1 in the John McEnroe Group.
“One late,” said Pavic, when asked about the difference between victory and defeat in Wednesday’s match. “That’s exactly what shows the difference in doubles today. They actually won the match. It was a let, he hit an ace, and then a double fault on a match point. In the end it was just those one or two points, and often that’s the case in doubles.”
“At the Match Tie-break it is like that and the differences are small. We somehow managed to fight through even though we are not at our best. We are happy with the victory.”
The victory for Arevalo and Pavic ensured that Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski qualified for the semi-finals in Turin. The all-British duo previously defeated Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-7, and Heliovaara and Patten will face Arevalo and Pavic in a straight shootout on Friday for a last four spot.
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