David Marrero: 'I preferred playing singles much more than doubles'

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David Marrero’s doubles career has been impressive. So far, he can boast 47 titles in this mode, 14 of which he conquered on the ATP tour—one ATP Finals (2013), one Master 1000 (Rome 2015), five 500, and seven 250.

As he happened to play in the qualification draw of an M15 in the Dominican Republic in early December—just for the sake of feeling the thrill of individual competition after almost a decade focusing only on doubles matches—, the Spaniard told TWUSA about the distinction between playing tennis in singles and doubles.

“There is a big difference. Now I realize how sacrificed individual play is,” he said, genuinely appreciative. “This week, I was lucky enough to be able to play three matches in the qualies, and now I admire the singles players much more.

These kids, I see how they run, how they fight, how they move, and to do this you have to be very, very, very well prepared to compete. In the doubles at the end, you play with another partner, if you have a not-so-good day he can help you.

You just cover half of the court, and there isn’t so much physical effort to put in, the games are much shorter, the points much faster. There is a big difference”. So which mode does Marrero prefer, since he has been playing almost exclusively doubles since 2010? “At a good level, I preferred playing singles much more than doubles,” he admitted.

“The satisfaction is different, it is much more pleasant to win on your own than with a partner. At mediatic and economic level, you cannot compare the two. I could tell you that both things are ten times as much as it is for singles than doubles.

Singles is much more difficult, obviously, so the singles rewards have to be much more than the doubles’, because you cannot compare the sacrifice of one mode to that of the other”. As much as he could prefer playing singles rather than doubles, Marrero’s consideration of his doubles achievements remains objective, “My best year has been as a doubles player. I think I have made a good career in the world of doubles, in the end it is what I keep. And it is not little”.