Novak Djokovic and Carlos Gomez-Herrera, the unlikely doubles pair of the Marbella ATP grasscourt event, reached the semi-finals on Wednesday with the 355th-ranked player insisting it’s a “dream” to play alongside the world No 1.
Djokovic and Gomez-Herrera defeated top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 10-8.
Djokovic, the 19-time Grand Slam winner who will be bidding for a sixth Wimbledon title next week, is a long-time friend of Gomez-Herrera.
But their careers have taken dramatically different paths.
Djokovic, who has been world number one for a record number of weeks and was the first man in over half a century to win all four Slams twice when he won the French Open, has earnings of almost $150 million.
The Serb has made over $4 million in 2021 alone.
Gomez-Herrera, 31, has banked just $16,000 this year and $163,000 in his career. His singles ranking is 355 and 258 in doubles.
“’Xarly’ is a longtime friend. We’ve known each other for almost 15 years,” said Djokovic.
“We are having a lot of fun on the court. This was a huge win for us, beating one of the best doubles players in the world after losing the first set.”
Gomez-Herrera will be playing in his first semi-final when the pair meet Oliver Marach and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.
He gave all the credit for Wednesday’s win to Djokovic.
“He reached the semi-finals himself alone, because I didn’t put a ball in the court for two sets,” Gomez-Herrera told atptour.com.
“Luckily, thanks again for Novak being there, because for me it’s like a dream. I’m awake, but I’m dreaming. He’s by the court with me, and that means a lot to me.”
Singles results
Second round
Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP x4) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-4, 6-4
Jordan Thompson (AUS) bt Lukas Klein (SVK) 6-4, 6-4
Sam Querrey (USA) bt Ugo Humbert (FRA x7) - walkover
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x3) bt Stefano Travaglia (ITA) 6-3, 7-5
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!