Just more than 24 hours after Marcelo Arevalo claimed his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros alongside Jean Julien-Rojer, he was already back in his home country of El Salvador to receive a range of accolades. The Salvadoran visited the Presidential House, the Legislative Palace and the national tennis federation, all of which honoured him for his achievement in Paris.
Arévalo, who is up to a career-high No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, was welcomed on Thursday by Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador. “For me it was very emotional to see that the president of my country wanted to meet me and recognise the biggest triumph of my career,” Arévalo told ATPTour.com. “It’s a sign of his commitment to our Salvadoran sport.”
Bukele congratulated Arévalo on the victory that lifted him and Rojer up to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings and made him the first Central American doubles player in history to win a Grand Slam title. The message was clear on the president’s social media: “Thank you for the joy and pride you gave all of us Salvadorans. I’m sure there will be more success in your career and we’ll always be there to support you.”
The leader also personally referenced a couple of moments from the Paris final. “He told me he’d seen the match and mentioned two points that we won. One where I hit it from on the ground and another where I dived for the ball,” Arevalo said. “It was a wonderful experience and we chatted a bit about everything.”
In addition to the praise at the presidential residence, Arévalo was also named a Worthy Son of El Salvador by the president of the Legislative Assembly, Representative Ernesto Castro, who said, “I’m happy to be here to honour the career of an exceptional man, who has given us one of the most important gifts in our sport.”
The 31-year-old, who was born in Sonsonate, spoke of his immense gratitude during the ceremony at the Legislative Palace. But the homages did not end there. The previous day, he had received recognition from the National Sports Institute (INDES). “We high-performance athletes have been supported in recent years thanks to the management of this institution,” Arevalo said.
Before leaving on Friday for the ATP Tour’s grass swing, Arévalo visited the Salvadoran Tennis Federation, presided by his brother Rafael, where he finished his tennis training. There he received a commemorative trophy, signed autographs and promised, before a crowd of children, to help more compatriots follow in his footsteps as a professional tennis player.
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
