David Marrero – The Story of a Tennis Professional

David Marrero – This Week Madrid Hosts an ATP Challenger 100 Tournament

This week, Madrid is hosting an ATP Challenger 100, a professional tennis tournament considered to be of second-tier status, yet still of high level. In tennis, there is a world ranking, and tournaments like this feature several players ranked among the top 100 in singles and the top 60 in doubles.

In this edition, the number one seed in the doubles draw was Guido Andreozzi, a very experienced Argentine player. He is coached by David Marrero Santana, a former Spanish professional born in Las Palmas in 1980.

For those not familiar with tennis, it’s useful to remember that there are two main disciplines: singles, which is played one-on-one, and doubles, played two-on-two. During this week, Marrero is coaching a professional doubles team, consisting of Andreozzi (ARG) and Theo Arribage (FRA), who are ranked 53rd and 55th in the world, respectively.

Biography

A doubles specialist, Marrero built the most brilliant part of his career in this discipline, winning 14 ATP titles, including the 2013 ATP Finals, which he won alongside Fernando Verdasco. His achievements were further enhanced by 16 other final appearances, culminating in a career-high world ranking of number 5 in November of that year. His singles career, however, was more modest, with a peak ranking of 143rd in the world, where his successes were mainly limited to the smaller circuits, with seven Futures titles and one Challenger title.

Despite announcing his retirement at the 2022 “Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell,” the player never truly said goodbye to the racquet. He stayed active on the Challenger and ITF circuits and made an unexpected return to success in October 2024, winning an ITF title in Spain alongside young compatriot Sergi Fita Juan, 27 years his junior. This victory was a triumph that felt like a second youth.

Memorable Wins
The Canarian player, one of the greatest doubles players in the history of Spanish tennis, has won the Masters Cup and the Rome Masters 1000 and has played three Davis Cup matches, often sharing the team with Rafa Nadal.

“Regardless of the importance of the prize, every title won has been important, because there is a feeling and passion that drive the action and the will to participate. One of the most memorable moments was the competition in London.”

The Spanish duo, consisting of Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero, triumphed at the London Masters, defeating the Bryan brothers in the final with a score of 7-5, 6-7, 10-7 in the decisive ‘super tie-break,’ in a match that lasted 1 hour and 44 minutes. This victory marked their sixth title together, consolidating a career of success in the doubles circuit.

With this win, Verdasco and Marrero succeeded Marcel Granollers and Marc López, who had won the tournament in the previous edition. Their achievement made them the third Spanish duo to win the season-ending tournament, a trophy that had also been won by Juan Gisbert and Manuel Orantes in 1975.

In their path to the title, Marrero, 33, and Verdasco, 29, who had been regularly playing together since 2012, overcame several top-level teams, including defending champions Granollers and López, who failed to make it past the round-robin stage.

Verdasco and Marrero Conquer the London Masters

The Spanish duo showed great resilience, particularly in the final against the Bryan brothers, considered one of the strongest doubles teams in history. The Bryans, who have won the Masters Cup three times and hold the record with 15 Grand Slam titles, were put under pressure by the Spaniards, but they had some chances to turn the match around, especially in the second set. However, Verdasco and Marrero always responded with great determination, overcoming critical moments, including a series of break opportunities for the Americans in the seventh game of the first set.

The match stayed tight until the end, with the second set decided by a tie-break, which saw the Bryans get lucky to force the decisive ‘super tie-break.’ In the end, it was the Spanish team that prevailed, closing out the match with great class.

This triumph marks an important milestone in the careers of the two Spanish tennis players, who now look to the future with even higher ambitions in the ATP circuit.

Article by Rebecca Olivieri