Pablo Cuevas

1.1. Early career and debut

Pablo Cuevas turned professional in 2004 and immediately began representing Uruguay in the Davis Cup at the age of 18. His early career saw him competing primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he secured several titles. In 2007, he won singles Challenger titles in Tunica, Scheveningen, and Lima, and doubles Challenger titles in São Paulo and Florianópolis.

He made his Grand Slam debut in men's doubles at the 2007 French Open with Argentine partner Carlos Berlocq, reaching the third round. Later that year, he made his singles Grand Slam debut at the 2007 US Open, where he lost in the first round to Andy Murray.

The 2008 season began strongly for Cuevas at the 2008 Movistar Open in Viña del Mar, Chile, where he earned his first tour-level victory against Guillermo Coria. He went on to defeat Fernando Verdasco and José Acasuso before losing to Fernando González in the semifinals. This performance helped him achieve a career-high singles ranking of World No. 88. In March, Cuevas qualified for his first ATP Masters Series event, the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, defeating Vince Spadea before falling to Fernando González. He also reached his first ATP doubles final at the Houston tournament, partnering with Marcel Granollers.

1.2. Grand Slam doubles success

Cuevas achieved his most significant Grand Slam success at the 2008 French Open, where he partnered with Peruvian Luis Horna. As an unseeded pair, they made a remarkable run to the men's doubles title. Their path to victory included defeating the seventh seeds Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra in the first round, ninth seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes in the third round, and notably, the top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinals with a score of 6-3, 5-7, 7-6^(7-1). In the final, they faced the second-seeded duo of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, whom they defeated convincingly 6-2, 6-3 in just 56 minutes.

This victory marked Cuevas's first professional title and a historic achievement for Uruguayan tennis. Cuevas and Horna became the first all-South American team to win a Grand Slam men's doubles title. For Uruguay, it was the country's second Grand Slam title overall, following Fiorella Bonicelli's women's doubles victory at the 1976 French Open. Cuevas's triumph surpassed the previous best Grand Slam performance by a Uruguayan male player, Marcelo Filippini's quarterfinal appearance at the 1999 French Open.

In 2013, after returning from a significant injury, Cuevas reached the semifinals of the French Open men's doubles with Horacio Zeballos. He also reached the semifinals of the 2016 Australian Open men's doubles and the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup doubles.

1.3. ATP singles titles

Cuevas secured his first ATP singles title in July 2014 at the 2014 Swedish Open. After defeating Jérémy Chardy, Fernando Verdasco, and João Sousa, he won the final against Sousa with a score of 6-2, 6-1. This victory propelled him to World No. 61 in the ATP rankings. Just one week later, he claimed his second ATP title at the Umag Croatia Open. After navigating the qualifying rounds, he defeated Mate Delić, Andreas Seppi, Teymuraz Gabashvili, Fabio Fognini, and Tommy Robredo in the final (6-3, 6-4) without dropping a set. This back-to-back success marked his entry into the world's top 40 for the first time.

In 2015, Cuevas won his third ATP singles title at the 2015 Brasil Open in São Paulo, defeating Luca Vanni in a tight three-set final. He also reached the final of the inaugural 2015 Istanbul Open, where he lost to Roger Federer.

The 2016 season was particularly successful for Cuevas in singles. He won the 2016 Rio Open by defeating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Guido Pella in the final, marking his first ATP 500 series title. His victory at the Rio Open was notable as he became the first player in ATP Tour history to win five consecutive matches against left-handed opponents en route to a title. The following week, he won his fifth singles title at the 2016 Brasil Open, defeating Pablo Carreño Busta in the final and achieving back-to-back tournament wins. He reached two more finals in 2016, finishing as runner-up at the 2016 Nottingham Open (grass) to Steve Johnson and at the 2016 German Open (clay) to Martin Kližan.

In March 2017, Cuevas clinched his sixth and final ATP singles title, winning the 2017 Brasil Open for the third consecutive year by defeating Albert Ramos Viñolas.

1.4. Peak rankings and Masters 1000 performances

Pablo Cuevas achieved his career-high singles ranking of World No. 19 on August 15, 2016, following a strong season that included two ATP 250 titles and an ATP 500 title. His career-high doubles ranking was World No. 14, achieved on April 20, 2009, shortly after his French Open doubles triumph.

He consistently performed well at ATP Masters 1000 events, particularly on clay. In 2011, he reached the third round of the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, notably defeating World No. 8 Andy Roddick. In 2017, he had a standout year at the Masters 1000 level:

• At the 2017 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal, defeating Martin Kližan, Fabio Fognini, and World No. 11 David Goffin before losing to Pablo Carreño Busta.
• He followed this with another quarterfinal appearance at the 2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he notably defeated World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. At the same tournament, he won his second Masters 1000 doubles title, partnering with Rohan Bopanna.
• His best Masters 1000 singles result came at the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open, where he reached his first Masters semifinal. He defeated Thomaz Bellucci, Nicolas Mahut, Benoît Paire, and Alexander Zverev before his run was ended by World No. 9 Dominic Thiem.

In 2018, Cuevas continued his strong Masters 1000 showings, defeating World No. 6 Dominic Thiem in the third round of the 2018 BNP Paribas Open before losing in the fourth round to Hyeon Chung. He also reached the third round of the 2018 Mutua Madrid Open.

1.5. Injuries and comeback

After the 2011 French Open, Pablo Cuevas underwent knee surgery, which forced him off the tour for nearly two years. He did not play any professional matches in 2012. He made his return to the ATP Challenger Tour in May 2013 and later that year, he won his first-round match at the 2013 French Open, marking his return to Grand Slam play. He also defeated World No. 8 Nikolay Davydenko in the first round of the 2013 Proton Malaysian Open.

In the summer of 2018, Cuevas suffered a foot injury that significantly limited his activity for the remainder of the season. Despite this, he made a successful comeback, winning two Challenger titles in 2019. In 2022, Cuevas took a break from the tour to spend time with his family, later resuming training in Buenos Aires to prepare for future competitions. In his later career, he utilized a protected ranking to enter several Grand Slam qualifying competitions, including the 2023 French Open, 2023 Wimbledon Championships, 2024 Australian Open, and the 2024 US Open.

1.6. Later career highlights

In 2019, Cuevas won his first Challenger title in almost two years at the 2019 Tunis Open, followed by another victory at the 2019 Open du Pays d'Aix three weeks later. He had a notable run at the 2019 Estoril Open, where he qualified as a lucky loser and reached the final before being defeated by top seed and World No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas. He also reached the third round of the 2019 French Open for the fourth time in his career.

In 2020, Cuevas was part of the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup representing Uruguay, though his team did not advance past the round-robin stage. During a match against Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, Cuevas received a "Lack of Effort" warning from the umpire, a decision he disagreed with, almost leading to his retirement from the match before Basilashvili's intervention. He also reached back-to-back quarterfinals at the 2020 Córdoba Open and 2020 Argentina Open.

In 2021, Cuevas qualified for the main draw of the 2021 Geneva Open, reaching the semifinals after defeating top players like Reilly Opelka and former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov. At the 2021 French Open, he played against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round. Later that year, he won both the singles and doubles titles at the 2021 Open Sopra Steria de Lyon Challenger event, partnering with his brother Martín Cuevas for the doubles victory. In 2022, he defeated 31st seed Jenson Brooksby at the 2022 French Open.

1.7. Retirement

Pablo Cuevas announced his retirement from professional tennis in September 2024, concluding a distinguished career spanning two decades.

4.1. Singles career summary

Cuevas won 6 singles titles on the ATP Tour and reached 4 other singles finals, totaling 10 final appearances. His overall singles win-loss record stands at 242 wins and 224 losses. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 19.

4.2. Doubles career summary

Cuevas won 9 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including one Grand Slam title and two Masters 1000 titles. He reached 8 other doubles finals, totaling 17 final appearances. His overall doubles win-loss record is 217 wins and 177 losses. His career-high doubles ranking was World No. 14.

4.3. Grand Slam singles performance

Pablo Cuevas participated in numerous Grand Slam singles main draws throughout his career. His best results at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments are as follows:

• Australian Open: Reached the second round four times (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021).
• French Open: Reached the third round five times (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019).
• Wimbledon: Reached the second round twice (2009, 2019).
• US Open: Reached the second round five times (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019).

Overall, his singles Grand Slam win-loss record is 25 wins and 41 losses.

4.4. Grand Slam doubles performance

Cuevas had a more significant impact in Grand Slam doubles, highlighted by his title win. His best results at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments are:

• Australian Open: Reached the semifinals once (2016).
• French Open: Won the title once (2008) and reached the semifinals once (2013).
• Wimbledon: Reached the third round twice (2014, 2016).
• US Open: Reached the third round twice (2009, 2013).

Overall, his doubles Grand Slam win-loss record is 49 wins and 38 losses.

4.5. Record against top 10 players

Pablo Cuevas has a record of 5 wins and 24 losses against players who were ranked in the top 10 at the time of their match.

His five victories over top 10 players are:

Other notable head-to-head records against top 10 players include:

• Against Nicolás Almagro: 4-1
• Against Pablo Carreño Busta: 4-3
• Against Diego Schwartzman: 3-4
• Against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 2-0
• Against Nikolay Davydenko: 2-1
• Against Nicolás Lapentti: 2-1
• Against Jack Sock: 2-1
• Against Jürgen Melzer: 2-2
• Against Radek Štěpánek: 2-2
• Against Grigor Dimitrov: 2-3
• Against Fernando Verdasco: 2-3
• Against Fabio Fognini: 2-5
• Against Dominic Thiem: 2-5
• Against Rafael Nadal: 1-5
• Against Roger Federer: 0-2
• Against Novak Djokovic: 0-1
• Against Andy Murray: 0-3
• Against David Ferrer: 0-4
• Against Fernando González: 0-4
• Against Stefanos Tsitsipas: 0-4