Team to Watch: Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah

There will be plenty of big names returning to the tour in 2021 and young players making their moves after an abbreviated 2020, but doubles will also take center stage. Baseline is taking a look at which teams to watch in the new year.

Navigating 2020 was a difficult task for anyone, tennis player or otherwise.

And then there’s what Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal experienced, pre- and post-pandemic. With a challenging season in the rearview mirror, 2021 offers the opportunity to hit the reset button, something the veteran duo will be eager to do as it sets out to re-establish itself as the best in the game.

The year started off with so much promise for “Colombian Power”: In 2019, Cabal and Farah won their first Grand Slam titles together at Wimbledon and the US Open, catapulting them to the top of the world rankings.

With a runner-up showing in Melbourne to their credit in 2018, the doubles standouts were heavy favorites to win a third Grand Slam title in a row. However, their chances were dealt a blow before the first ball was struck. Farah failed a drug test and was provisionally suspended, causing him to miss the Australian Open. The International Tennis Federation ended up ruling in his favor and he was able to resume playing. After an opening-round loss in Rio de Janeiro in their first tournament, Farah and Cabal bounced back with a final in Acapulco, then won a doubles rubber in Davis Cup before the tennis world shut down due to the pandemic.

Returning to action five months later, the pair dropped its first match in the New York “bubble,” then faced an extremely difficult draw at the US Open. After getting past the eventual ATP Finals runners-up Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the first round, they fell to the 2017 US Open winners Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in the second.

The abbreviated clay season started off slow for them, but they battled on at the French Open, winning two of four matches in third-set tiebreaks to reach the semifinals. With momentum on their side again, Cabal and Farah followed that with their second final of the year in Sardinia, Italy.

Unfortunately, an injury soon after that run forced Cabal to end his season earlier than expected, denying the duo a return trip to the ATP Finals. In between the starts and stops of 2020, there were some positives to take away—and they’re getting ready to meet 2021 together head-on.

With the rankings changes that took place in 2020, they’re still atop the standings. Now it’ll be a matter of working to stay there and maintain their momentum for a sustained stretch.