Pablo Cuevas


Pablo Gabriel Tito Cuevas Urroz is an Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna.
He has won six singles titles and has a career-high singles ranking of World No. 19. Cuevas' career-high doubles ranking is World no. 14, which he achieved in April 2009.
In September 2019, Cuevas led the Uruguayan Davis Cup team to a victory over the Dominican Republic, winning entry into the highest Davis Cup tier, the World Group.

Professional career

Early career

At the 2007 French Open, Cuevas and Argentine partner Carlos Berlocq made the third round of the men's doubles tournament. Cuevas won the Tunica, Scheveningen, and Lima singles Challenger titles, and the São Paulo-1 and Florianópolis-2 doubles Challenger titles.

2008

Cuevas opened the year at the Movistar Open in Viña del Mar, Chile. He earned his first tour-level victory in his first-round match against Guillermo Coria. He then beat Fernando Verdasco and José Acasuso, before falling in the semifinals against Fernando González. Cuevas reached his career-high singles ranking of no. 88 following Viña del Mar.
In March, Cuevas qualified for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, his first ATP Masters Series event. He defeated Vince Spadea in the first round, before falling to Fernando González in the second round. At Houston, he partnered with Spaniard Marcel Granollers to reach the doubles final, falling to Ernests Gulbis and Rainer Schüttler.
At the 2008 French Open in May, Cuevas partnered with Peruvian Luis Horna to win the doubles title. On their way to the title, the pair defeated seventh seeds Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra in the first round, ninth seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes in the third round, top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinals, and second-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. They defeated Nestor and Zimonjić 6–2, 6–3, in only 56 minutes to win the title. Cuevas and Horna became the first all-South American team to win a Grand Slam men's doubles title, and Cuevas became the second Uruguayan, after Fiorella Bonicelli, to win a Grand Slam title.

2009

At the 2009 Movistar Open in Viña del Mar, Cuevas, as in 2008, reached the semifinals in singles, where he met local favorite Fernando González. González won the match 6–3, 6–2. In doubles, Cuevas paired with Argentinean Brian Dabul, and together they won the tournament, winning the final against František Čermák and Michal Mertiňák, 6–3, 6–3. This win helped Cuevas achieve his doubles ranking high of no. 17 in the world on February 9, 2009.
In the first round at Wimbledon in 2009, Cuevas defeated Christophe Rochus of Belgium in a come-from-behind victory, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, 11–9. In the second round, he lost to 21-year-old Jesse Levine of the U.S., 6–2, 6–1, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3.
Cuevas qualified into the 2009 International German Open. He reached the semifinals of that tournament by beating Björn Phau, ninth-seeded Jürgen Melzer, eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, and 14th-seeded Nicolás Almagro in the quarterfinals. He lost his semifinal match with Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7.
Cuevas played in the 2009 Kremlin Cup as fifth seed. He advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Lu Yen-hsun and Teymuraz Gabashvili. He lost in the quarterfinals to Mikhail Kukushkin, 6–4, 1–6, 4–6. He did, however, win the doubles title, partnering Marcel Granollers.

2010

Cuevas defeated eight-seeded Albert Montañés at the 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel to reach quarter-finals, where he lost to David Ferrer. At the 2010 Kremlin Cup he beat world number 11 Nikolay Davydenko in second round and fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek in quarter-finals, then was defeated by eventual champion Viktor Troicki.

2011

He went 0–4 at the start of 2011, but on arrival at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he defeated both Michael Berrer and world number 8 Andy Roddick by the same score, 6–4, 7–6, to reach the third round.
At the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, Cuevas beat third seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to reach semi-finals, where he lost to Kei Nishikori.
At the 2011 Estoril Open he defeated third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and sixth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci in consecutive matches to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Juan Martín del Potro.
After losing in first round of Roland Garros, Cuevas did not play on tour for two years due to injury.

2013

The Uruguayan played again in ATP Challenger Tour events in May 2013. He won the first round match at Roland Garros. Later he defeated eight-seeded Nikolay Davydenko at first round of the 2013 Proton Malaysian Open.

2014

In 2014, Cuevas won the first round matches at the Rio Open, Portugal Open and Roland Garros. At the Swedish Open, he beat sixth-seeded Jérémy Chardy, third-seeded Fernando Verdasco and fifth-seeded João Sousa to win his first ATP 250 tournament and became number 61 in the ATP ranking.
One week later, he won his second ATP tournament at the Umag Croatia Open. Cuevas had to play the qualifying round, defeating Nikolas Walterscheid-Tukic, Nikola Čačić and Renzo Olivo. In the main tournament, he beat Croatian Mate Delić 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, then Italian Andreas Seppi 6–3, 6–1, Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 in the quarterfinals, and finally, on Sunday, he beat Fabio Fognini in semifinals, and second-seeded Tommy Robredo in the finals, without losing a set, 6–3, 6–4. After the tournament he rose to inside the world's top 40 in the ATP rankings for the first time in his career.
In November, the Uruguayan won the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil and Uruguay Open singles clay tournaments.

2015

At the 2015 Australian Open, Cuevas lost in first round to unseeded player Matthias Bachinger. In the doubles event, he partnered David Marrero to reach quarterfinals, where they were beaten by Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli.
He began the Latin American season with his third ATP singles title at the ATP 250 São Paulo, after beating Jiri Vesely, Nicolás Almagro, and Santiago Giraldo. Later he beat Almgaro again, and then Albert Montañés to reach the third round of the Rio 500, where he was defeated by clay master Rafael Nadal in three sets. Also, together with Marrero, he beat Vesely and Frantisek Cermak to reach the quarterfinals of the doubles event.
At the ATP 250 Buenos Aires, he lost to local Juan Mónaco in quarterfinals. Cuevas then played the Davis Cup Americas Zone round versus Colombia, where he lost to Alejandro González and defeated Giraldo. He partnered his brother Martín to defeat doubles specialists Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah.
At the Indian Wells Masters, Cuevas defeated Jarkko Nieminen to reach the third round, where he lost to Feliciano López. This was his best singles result in big tournaments since his third-round appearance at the 2011 Miami Masters. In the doubles event, he lost in the first round to Nadal and Pablo Carreño Busta. Cuevas lost in second round of the Miami Masters to Thomaz Bellucci.
At the inaugural ATP 250 Istanbul Open, as the third seed, first defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili, Thomaz Bellucci, and Grigor Dimitrov, the second seed, to reach his fourth ATP Tour level final, where he lost to Roger Federer.

2016

He won the 2016 Rio Open by defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Argentine Guido Pella in the final. The next week, he won the Brasil Open in São Paulo by defeating Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta in the final. He was the runner up at the 2016 Nottingham Open to Steve Johnson. He was runner up at the 2016 German Open to Martin Klizan.

Davis Cup

Cuevas is 28–6 in Davis Cup singles matches, and 13–4 in Davis Cup doubles matches.

Playing style

Pablo Cuevas has a clay-court style of play. He utilizes heavy topspin off his forehand side and plays a one-handed backhand. His one-handed backhand is not a weakness, and he uses it well to create angles and to hit passing shots. Cuevas also has a good slice. For most of his serves, he uses a heavy kick serve. Most of his skill set was on display when he defeated Andy Roddick in Miami in 2011.

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Masters 1000 finals

Doubles: 2 (2 titles)

ATP career finals

Singles: 10 (6 titles, 4 runners-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–02014 Swedish Open – Men's Singles|Swedish Open, Sweden250 SeriesClay João Sousa6–2, 6–1
Win2–02014 ATP Vegeta Croatia Open Umag – Singles|Croatia Open, Croatia250 SeriesClay Tommy Robredo6–3, 6–4
Win3–02015 Brasil Open – Singles|Brasil Open, Brazil250 SeriesClay Luca Vanni6–4, 3–6, 7–6
Loss3–12015 Istanbul Open – Singles|Istanbul Open, Turkey250 SeriesClay Roger Federer3–6, 6–7
Win4–12016 Rio Open – Men's Singles|Rio Open, Brazil500 SeriesClay Guido Pella6–4, 6–7, 6–4
Win5–12016 Brasil Open – Singles|Brasil Open, Brazil 250 SeriesClay Pablo Carreño Busta7–6, 6–3
Loss5–22016 Aegon Open Nottingham – Men's Singles|Nottingham Open, United Kingdom250 SeriesGrass Steve Johnson6–7, 5–7
Loss5–32016 German Open – Doubles|German Open, Germany500 SeriesClay Martin Kližan1–6, 4–6
Win6–32017 Brasil Open – Singles|Brasil Open, Brazil 250 SeriesClay Albert Ramos Viñolas6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss6–42019 Estoril Open – Singles|Estoril Open, Portugal250 SeriesClay Stefanos Tsitsipas3–6, 6–7

Doubles: 17 (9 titles, 8 runners-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–12008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Doubles|U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, United StatesIntl SeriesClay Marcel Granollers Ernests Gulbis
Rainer Schüttler		5–7, 6–7
Win1–12008 French Open – Men's Doubles|French Open, FranceGrand SlamClay Luis Horna Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić		6–2, 6–3
Win2–12009 Movistar Open – Doubles|Chile Open, Chile250 SeriesClay Brian Dabul František Čermák
Michal Mertiňák		6–3, 6–3
Win3–12009 Kremlin Cup – Men's Doubles|Kremlin Cup, Russia250 SeriesHard Marcel Granollers František Čermák
Michal Mertiňák		4–6, 7–5,
Win4–12010 Brasil Open – Doubles|Brasil Open, Brazil250 SeriesClay Marcel Granollers Łukasz Kubot
Oliver Marach		7–5, 6–4
Loss4–22010 Estoril Open – Men's Doubles|Estoril Open, Portugal250 SeriesClay Marcel Granollers Marc López
David Marrero		7–6, 4–6,
Loss4–32013 Proton Malaysian Open – Doubles|Malaysian Open, Malaysia250 SeriesHard Horacio Zeballos Eric Butorac
Raven Klaasen		2–6, 4–6
Loss4–42014 Copa Claro – Doubles|Argentina Open, Argentina250 SeriesClay Horacio Zeballos Marcel Granollers
Marc López		5–7, 4–6
Loss4–52014 Portugal Open – Men's Doubles|Portugal Open, Portugal 250 SeriesClay David Marrero Santiago González
Scott Lipsky		3–6, 6–3,
Win5–52015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Men's Doubles|Italian Open, ItalyMasters 1000Clay David Marrero Marcel Granollers
Marc López		6–4, 7–5
Loss5–62015 Aegon Open Nottingham – Men's Doubles|Nottingham Open, United Kingdom250 SeriesGrass David Marrero Chris Guccione
André Sá		2–6, 5–7
Loss5–72016 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – Doubles|Barcelona Open, Spain500 SeriesClay Marcel Granollers Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan		5–7, 5–7
Win6–72017 Rio Open – Doubles|Rio Open, Brazil500 SeriesClay Pablo Carreño Busta Juan Sebastián Cabal
Robert Farah		6–4, 5–7,
Win7–72017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Doubles|Monte-Carlo Masters, MonacoMasters 1000Clay Rohan Bopanna Feliciano López
Marc López		6–3, 3–6,
Loss7–82017 German Open – Doubles|German Open, Germany500 SeriesClay Marc López Ivan Dodig
Mate Pavić		3–6, 4–6
Win8–82017 Generali Open Kitzbühel – Doubles|Austrian Open Kitzbühel, Austria250 SeriesClay Guillermo Durán Hans Podlipnik-Castillo
Andrei Vasilevski		6–4, 4–6,
Win9–82017 Erste Bank Open – Doubles|Vienna Open, Austria500 SeriesHard Rohan Bopanna Marcelo Demoliner
Sam Querrey		7–6, 6–7,

Challenger and Futures finals

Singles: 23 (17–6)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Romania F6, IașiFuturesClay Martín Alund5–7, 4–6
Win1–1Argentina F10, RosarioFuturesClay Máximo González6–7, 6–4, 2–6
Loss1–2Uruguay F1, MontevideoFuturesClay Juan-Martín Aranguren2–6, 2–6
Win2–2Venezuela F8, MaracayFuturesHard Yohny Romero6–2, 3–0 ret.
Win3–2Colombia F1, ManizalesFuturesClay Lionel Noviski7–5, 6–3
Loss3–3Naples, USAChallengerClay Carlos Berlocq3–6, 5–7
Win4–3Tunica Resorts, USAChallengerClay Juan Pablo Brzezicki6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Win5–3Scheveningen, NetherlandsChallengerClay Dominik Meffert6–3, 6–4
Win6–3Lima, PeruChallengerClay Marcos Daniel0–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win7–32009 Tennis Napoli Cup – Singles|Napoli, ItalyChallengerClay Victor Crivoi6–1, 6–3
Win8–32009 Copa Petrobras Montevideo – Singles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Nicolás Lapentti7–5, 6–1
Win9–32010 Pekao Szczecin Open – Singles|Szczecin, PolandChallengerClay Igor Andreev6–1, 6–1
Loss9–42010 Copa Petrobras Montevideo – Singles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Máximo González6–1, 3–6, 4–6
Loss9–52010 Copa Petrobras Buenos Aires – Singles|Buenos Aires, ArgentinaChallengerClay Máximo González4–6, 3–6
Win10–52013 Copa Topper – Singles|Buenos Aires, ArgentinaChallengerClay Facundo Argüello7–6, 2–6, 6–4
Win11–52014 Seguros Bolívar Open Barranquilla – Singles|Barranquilla, ColombiaChallengerClay Martin Kližan6–3, 6–1
Loss11–62014 Rome Open – Singles|Rome, ItalyChallengerClay Julian Reister3–6, 2–6
Win12–6XII Venice Challenge Save Cup – Singles|Mestre, ItalyChallengerClay Marco Cecchinato6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Win13–62014 Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil – Singles|Guayaquil, EcuadorChallengerClay Paolo Lorenziw/o
Win14–62014 Uruguay Open – Singles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Hugo Dellien6–2, 6–4
Win15–62017 Uruguay Open – Singles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Gastão Elias6–4, 6–3
Win16–62019 Tunis Open – Singles|Tunis, TunisiaChallengerClay João Domingues7–5, 6–4
Win17–62019 Open du Pays d'Aix – Singles|Aix-en-Provence, FranceChallengerClay Quentin Halys7–5, 3–6, 6–2

Doubles: 42 (21–21)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Brazil F13, SantosFuturesClay Agustin Tarantino Thiago Alves
Thomaz Bellucci		3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss0–2Chile F2, SantiagoFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Brian Dabul
Damián Patriarca		4–6, 2–6
Loss0–3Chile F3, SantiagoFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Jorge Aguilar
Felipe Parada		3–6, 4–6
Win1–3Argentina F3, CórdobaFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Matías Niemiz
Cristian Villagrán		6–2, 6–2
Win2–3Argentina F4, CórdobaFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Diego Cristin
Martín Vilarrubí		7–5, 2–6, 7–6
Loss2–4Argentina F5, CórdobaFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Diego Cristin
Martín Vilarrubí		6–4, 6–7, 4–6
Win3–4Romania F5, BucharestFuturesClay Martín Vilarrubí Adrian Cruciat
Adrian-Vasile Gavrilă		7–6, 6–2
Win4–4Romania F7, BucharestFuturesClay Martín Vilarrubí Pablo Andújar
Igor Muguruza		5–7, 6–1, 6–4
Loss4–5Romania F15, CraiovaFuturesClay Eric Scherer Adrian Barbu
Ionuț Moldovan		6–7, 2–6
Loss4–6Argentina F10, RosarioFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Máximo González
Damián Patriarca		6–7, 6–4, 2–6
Win5–6Uruguay F1, MontevideoFuturesClay Martín Vilarrubí Matías O'Neille
Emiliano Redondi		7–6, 6–4
Loss5–7Venezuela F7, MaracayFuturesHard Horacio Zeballos Brian Dabul
Marcel Felder		5–7, 4–6
Win6–7Colombia F1, ManizalesFuturesClay Horacio Zeballos Diego Álvarez
Emiliano Redondi		6–4, 7–6
Loss6–8Colombia F2, BucaramangaFuturesClay Martín Vilarrubí Brian Dabul
Marcel Felder		3–6, 2–6
Win7–8Montauban, FranceChallengerClay Adrián García Marc Gicquel
Édouard Roger-Vasselin		6–3, 4–6,
Loss7–9Quito, EcuadorChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Rogério Dutra Silva
Marcelo Melo		3–6, 4–6
Loss7–10Medellín, ColombiaChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos André Ghem
Marcelo Melo		w/o
Win8–10Naples, USAChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Goran Dragicevic
Mirko Pehar		7–6, 6–3
Win9–10São Paulo, BrazilChallengerHard Adrián García Marcelo Melo
Alexandre Simoni		6–4, 6–2
Loss9–11Santiago, ChileChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Brian Dabul
Marc López		2–6, 6–3,
Win10–11Florianópolis, BrazilChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos André Miele
João Souza		6–4, 6–4
Loss10–12Naples, USAChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Juan Pablo Brzezicki
Leonardo Mayer		1–6, 7–6,
Loss10–13Tunica Resorts, USAChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Paul Goldstein
Donald Young		6–4, 1–6,
Loss10–14Reggio Emilia, ItalyChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Franco Ferreiro
Lamine Ouahab		4–6, 6–1,
Win11–14Turin, ItalyChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Pablo Andújar
Flávio Saretta		6–3, 6–1
Loss11–15Scheveningen, NetherlandsChallengerClay Rohan Bopanna Raemon Sluiter
Peter Wessels		6–7, 5–7
Win12–15San Marino, San MarinoChallengerClay Juan Pablo Guzmán Tomasz Bednarek
James Cerretani		6–1, 6–0
Win13–15Medellín, ColombiaChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Santiago González
Bruno Soares		6–4, 6–4
Win14–15Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Luis Horna Marcel Granollers
Santiago Ventura		w/o
Win15–15Lima, PeruChallengerClay Eduardo Schwank Michael Quintero
Martín Vilarrubí		6–4, 6–2
Loss15–162009 Challenger ATP Iquique – Doubles|Iquique, ChileChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Johan Brunström
Jean-Julien Rojer		3–6, 4–6
Loss15–172009 Open Barletta – Città della Disfida – Doubles|Barletta, ItalyChallengerClay Luis Horna Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Santiago Ventura		6–7, 2–6
Win16–172009 Tennis Napoli Cup – Doubles|Napoli, ItalyChallengerClay David Marrero Frank Moser
Lukáš Rosol		6–4, 6–3
Win17–172009 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux – Doubles|Bordeaux, FranceChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Xavier Pujo
Stéphane Robert		4–6, 6–4,
Loss17–182009 UniCredit Czech Open – Doubles|Prostějov, Czech RepublicChallengerClay Dominik Hrbatý Johan Brunström
Jean-Julien Rojer		2–6, 3–6
Loss17–192009 BSI Challenger Lugano – Doubles|Lugano, SwitzerlandChallengerClay Sergio Roitman Johan Brunström
Jean-Julien Rojer		w/o
Loss17–202009 Copa Petrobras Montevideo – Doubles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Martín Cuevas Juan Pablo Brzezicki
David Marrero		4–6, 4–6
Win18–202013 Uruguay Open – Doubles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Martín Cuevas Rogério Dutra Silva
André Ghem		w/o
Win19–202014 Seguros Bolívar Open Barranquilla – Doubles|Barranquilla, ColombiaChallengerClay Pere Riba František Čermák
Mikhail Elgin		6–4, 6–3
Win20–20XII Venice Challenge Save Cup – Doubles|Mestre, ItalyChallengerClay Horacio Zeballos Daniele Bracciali
Potito Starace		6–4, 6–1
Win21–202014 Uruguay Open – Doubles|Montevideo, UruguayChallengerClay Martín Cuevas Nicolás Jarry
Gonzalo Lama		6–2, 6–4
Loss21–212018 Moneta Czech Open – Doubles|Prostějov, Czech RepublicChallengerClay Martín Cuevas Denys Molchanov
Igor Zelenay		6–4, 3–6,

Performance timelines

Singles

Current through the 2019 ATP Finals.
1 Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008, Madrid Masters 2009–present.

Doubles

Mixed doubles

Wins over top 10 players

Season2004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019Total
Wins00000001000111105