2019 US Open men's doubles champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will soon say goodbye to professional tennis. On Friday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, they said goodbye to the US Open.
The pair were beaten by No. 1 seeds Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof, 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-3, in Round 2 of the 2023 men's doubles tournament—their final Grand Slam tournament match. Earlier this month, they announced their intentions to retire from tennis.
Always fan favorites in New York City, the loss brings the Colombians' glittering careers on the doubles court (nearly) to a close completely. The US Open is the last tour-level tournament of their careers, but the Colombian pair will play the Davis Cup Finals for their country against Ukraine from Sept. 14-15, and conclude their careers officially at an ATP Challenger event in Bogota at the end of the month.
HIGHLIGHTS: Cabal/Farah def. Godsick/Quinn, Round 1
Cabal, 37, and Farah, 36, were one of the ATP Tour's stalwart doubles teams of the 2010s, and in 2019, they stormed to the Wimbledon and US Open titles, making them the first Colombian duo to ever win a Grand Slam.
They also reached the final of the 2018 Australian Open, and seven ATP Masters 1000 finals in all. They won two of those events, and also qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals three times.
Their last career win came Wednesday in Round 1: a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 triumph over American teenagers Nicholas Godsick and Ethan Quinn.
In a farewell press conference, held in the Colombian capital in the wake of their announcement, Farah said the duo were ready to "prioritize new things" in their lives after playing tennis for 30-plus years.
“We feel like we’re doing the right thing," Cabal added, as reported by the ATP website. "It’s a difficult moment. We’ve been playing this sport for 30 years, dreaming of life at the top. It’s hard to say goodbye, but everything comes to an end, and this is a good point, we feel it is a good moment."
In all, Cabal and Farah won 19 ATP titles together, and were at the top of the ATP rankings for 29 and 68 weeks, respectively.
