Cabal and Farah said goodbye to the US Open and the Grand Slam tournaments

The “last dance” of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah finished in the second round of the US Open. The Colombian doubles couple was eliminated against the favorites to win the tournament, the duo made up of the Dutch Westley Koolhof and the british Neal Skupski who lead the ATP world ranking in this modality. The duel concluded with partial 7-6 (7-2), 1-6 and 6-3 after two hours and 34 minutes of play.

Despite having the odds against them, the “Colombian power” did not make it easy for the Europeans in the first set, to the point that they managed to break their serve in the first game. They maintained the advantage until the eighth game, in which Koolhof and Skupski returned the break, and given the impossibility of taking advantage, they went to tie-breaker where the Europeans won with a clear 7-2, taking the first set by a score of 7-6.

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In the second set things took an important turn after Cabal and Farah broke their rivals' serve in games 4 and 6, which allowed them to win 1-6 to the euphoria of hundreds of Colombians who were present and made feel like the majority on court 11. However, in the third set the pace of the Europeans prevailed, and a break at the service of the Colombians was enough for Koolhof and Skupski to take the last set 6-3, thus ensuring his presence in the third round.

In this way, Cabal and Farah's participation in the Grand Slam tournaments ended, since Several weeks ago they announced that 2023 will be their last year on the professional circuit after which they will dedicate themselves to other activities, particularly related to improving the level of tennis in Colombia. This decision, as confirmed by Juan Sebastián Cabal himself, Snail Radiohad already been taken in May prior to the Roland Garros dispute, but they decided to delay the public announcement in order to make it as least traumatic as possible for their entire work team and their sponsors.

After saying goodbye to US Open, at the moment it is known that the couple will take part in three more tournaments before their definitive retirement from tennis. They will first be part of the Team Colombia that will be measured against Ukraine by Davis cup on September 14 and 15 at the Garikula Tennis Club in the city of Kaspi (Georgia).

At the end of September they will present themselves for the dispute of the ATP Challenger of Bogotá (tournament they won as a couple in 2010). Finally, the “Colombian power” will say goodbye to the fields in the National games of November.

Although the Caleños were characterized by being more effective on clay courts, their most memorable successes were on grass and hard ground. And the duo took the first two grand slam in the history of Colombian tennis in Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019. Additionally, they reached the final of the Australian Open in 2018, where they were defeated. In addition to their three finals, Cabal and Farah reached seven semifinals (four of them at Roland Garros), and the quarterfinals three times.

Of their appearances in the four tournaments, all of them ended with a positive balance. In Australia they finished with 16 wins and 10 losses, at Roland Garros they obtained a balance of 19-10, Wimbledon finished with 22-9, and at the US Open they concluded their participation with 18-9.