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Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, the world's top two ranked doubles players, says winning their first Masters series title in Rome in 2018 helped turn their careers around. Speaking to the ATP Tour website, Cabal says, "Rome is where everything exploded.
Winning there was like getting the monkey off our back because we'd been coming up short in those types of tournaments. We had already won ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles. We thought that we were ready to win any tournament. But it wasn't easy.
And when we freed ourselves from that burden, we thought, 'Now we need a Grand Slam.’” "Rome is special for us. Even though we lost in the first round in the early years, we always played well there. Everything was in place for that to be the case.
We love Italy. It's one of our favourite countries. Rome has a unique atmosphere and the venue is special, the courts are spectacular and they are always full. That makes it even more special”. Farah also spoke on the same lines with regards to his affection for the Italian capital.
"We love Rome. We like going out and exploring the streets, slipping down an unknown alley, discovering hidden and unknown restaurants. We like walking and eating great food. We also play very well there. It suits us because we come into it in form at that point of the clay swing and Sebas and I are good on clay”.
The pair repeated as champions in Rome in 2019 and then went on to win their first Grand Slam at Wimbledon last year, followed by their second Grand Slam title at the US Open. They also ended the season as World No. 1 for the first time in their careers.