Rojer/Tecau No. 1 In ATP Rankings
November 23, 2015 | Men's Tennis
LONDON, England – Former UCLA men's tennis player Jean-Julien Rojer and partner Horia Tecau completed a memorable week at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday when they captured the doubles title, less than 24 hours after they had clinched year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings.
#Rojer & #Tecau complete dream week, capture #FinalShowdown doubles title. https://t.co/hniVLWwIkz #atp #tennis pic.twitter.com/uTtqSXQFGb
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 22, 2015
"It's such a nice event, a big tournament, a big prize to win at the end of the year,” said Rojer. “It's just a culmination of the whole year. I think we had a good year together."
Rojer and Tecau ended the reign of the Bryan brothers atop the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, securing the year-end No. 1 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over the Bryans in the semis of the ATP World Tour Finals. Other than Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, Rojer and Tecau became the first team to finish in the top spot since Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in 2008.
What is it like to cap a career-best season with a big win? #Rojer & #Tecau explain. Watch: https://t.co/RuM7HQE5q6 pic.twitter.com/Jp2HdsWLah
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) November 22, 2015
“It [felt] pretty darn good,” said Rojer of dethroning the Bryans. “There was so much riding on [that] match for us. We put in a lot of hard work, like many of the other teams do, of course. To have it come down to one match to play for the year-end No. 1 spot, it's just a dream scenario. On top of that, to win it with a lot of our friends and family here, it's just really cool.”
Second seeds Rojer and Tecau then went on to defeat eighth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea, 6-4, 6-3, for their 11th team title, and third of the year that includes their maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon. The duo ends the season with a 48-21 match record.
"We managed to win our first Grand Slam this year [and] we managed to finish the year No. 1," said Tecau. "Our main focus is still on improving the team. Whatever comes after will come. That's what we've been doing so far, just working on our game, talking a lot. We communicate very well. We have a very open relationship. We can tell each other everything. That helps a lot in this sport."
Rojer and Tecau are the first doubles team to win the season finale without losing a set since round-robin play began in 1986.
"All the Bruins are so very proud of Julien for achieving the No. 1 world ranking and winning the ATP World Tour doubles championships in London," said UCLA head coach Billy Martin. "We wish him continual success in 2016."