Welcome to the 2024 season and my new way of doing things. In case you missed it, I am going HAM on DOUBLES this season. As in, that is the only thing I will be previewing this year in these write-ups. Some may love that, some may hate it, most probably won’t give a finger flip. I needed something different and what’s more different than DOUBLES? You rarely see chatter about it on social media or through network tennis coverage, so why not DOUBLE DOWN on my love for DOUBLES by doing nothing but DOUBLES?
That’s where I’m at. That’s what you’re about to read. Those are the PIGPIX you’ll see for these tournaments. If you’re not down with doubles, maybe you will be by the time we’re all done after another tragically long season. It’s mostly ATP coverage for me, but there will be some tournaments where I preview the WTA side of things too. You can check out my tournament calendar to see which ones will have the double dips.
TENNISPIG’S TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
BRISBANE: NOTABLES & TRENDS
*This is the first time the tournament has been held since 2019. The last champions were Marcus Daniell and Wesley Koolhof.
*Of the last five runs, four from 2014 to 2018 featured at least one Aussie as a member of the championship duo in Brisbane. This year’s pairs that include at least one Aussie in Brisbane are: (4)Hijikata-Kubler, (6)Heliovaara-Peers, Duckworth-O’Connell, Purcell-Thompson and Mies-JP Smith.
*Four of the eight seeded teams in 2024 are making their debuts as first time tandems: (2)Glasspool-Rojer, (5)Mektic-Nys, (6)Heliovaara-Peers and (8)Bhambri-Haase. Glasspool-Rojer and Heliovaara-Peers will be regular pairs in the new season, but Nikola Mektic is playing this tournament without his new regular/former partner in Wesley Koolhof. Koolhof is playing the United Cup. I’m not certain on Bhambri-Haase, but seeing as both were very nomadic in their doubles pairings in 2023, I’d expect this is more of a one-off type of pairing.
SINGLES MINGLE
*There are a few notable singles players in the doubles draw in Brisbane. Rafael Nadal is the big one as he pulled Marc Lopez out of retirement to team up. The Spaniards have amassed a 35-10 record together in doubles play between 2009 and 2016. Other notable singles players in the doubles draw include Holger Rune-Andy Murray pairing up, Grigor Dimitrov-Sebastian Korda, Maxime Cressy-Marton Fucsovics and Ben Shelton-Ugo Humbert. All four of those pairings are first-time team-ups, so there’s not a whole lot to go on as far as what to expect early on from those duos.
SEEDS: ONE AND DONE WATCH (First Match Upset Watch)
(1)Krawietz-Puetz
The Germans were a fairly regular pairing last year to the tune of 31-18, but just 5-6 on outdoor hard courts. Their best runs came on clay (14 wins), so they could be prone to an upset early off the bye. They do catch a pretty nice draw early though, so they’re lower on the upset potential scale for me, but still one I’ll be monitoring.
(3)Lammons-Withrow
The Americans had a fantastic 2023 at 58-27 across all competitions, narrowly missing out on a spot in the Tour Finals. While they were very good on this surface with 32 wins in 2023, I don’t particularly like the set up for them in round two off the bye. They could see a double dose of kiwi in Daniell-Venus who have been pretty solid in limited play together. They did make the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and wound up winning bronze medals in doubles. Arneodo-Weissborn could be tricky too, but their best stuff came on clay in 2023 along with some decent indoor results. I’d be looking for Daniell-Venus as the likelier opening match.
(4)Hijikata-Kubler
Was their 2023 Australian Open title run all just a dream? The Aussies were 3-9 after winning their first six career matches together in Melbourne last year. I’d certainly give them a boost for playing in their home country again where the magic might be rekindled, but they have to prove they’re not one-time wonders. Both Cressy-Fucsovics or Mies-Smith could push them to start. The best thing for the Aussies is the inexperience of those two teams playing together, so perhaps that helps them avoid trouble early.
(5)Mektic-Nys
This is probably number one on my list if I’m picking a seed to lose early. It’s a potential nightmare no matter who survives the round one match with Nadal-Lopez battling Purcell-Thompson for a shot at the 5th seeds. While the media and stans will drool on the Nadal-Lopez pair, the Aussies could well be the lads to move on. They went 11-4 together in 2023 with finals in a pair of 250s on clay in Houston and hard courts in Atlanta. I don’t think they’ll be an easy out and certainly could be a sleeper team.
(8)Bhambri-Haase
As a first time pair, we don’t know exactly what to expect from these two. They’re both veterans of the doubles game, so there’s no doubt that they could be very good if they mesh together. I do think there is danger, especially with the big hitting games of the singles guys in Humbert-Shelton if they get through to round two.
DRAW PREVIEW
TOP HALF
It’s quite possible that there may not be many if any seeds involved in the latter stages in this half. In the first quarter, the top seeds Krawietz-Puetz could be in trouble early. I do like Escobar-Nedovyesov, who were an under-the-radar quality team a year ago. The 7th seeds tallied a 23-13 record in 2023 capping off the year with a title indoors in Sofia. All-in-all, they #7s made four ATP finals last year with titles on clay and indoors. They also won a grass court Challenger, so they’re skilled on all surfaces. While the focus may be on the singles guys in this quarter, especially Murray-Rune, these are the guys who may just wiggle through to to the semis. Krawietz-Puetz truly have plenty of talent to win this quarter, but need to get through any potential rust in round two to prove that point.
This second quarter could see an early wipe out of the seeds. I’ve already stated my expectation that Mektic-Nys will likely be one and done. I’m backing Purcell-Thompson to be the big movers in this quarter, but certainly you can’t count out Nadal-Lopez who have played in some huge doubles matches in their careers. I just wonder how they will fare with Lopez having been off the tour since 2016 and Nadal of course not having played a competitive match in nearly a year. Rafa also hasn’t played a doubles match since the Laver Cup in 2022. Hijikata-Kubler are the intriguing seeds for me. Playing in Australia as Aussies is a level of magic that you can’t explain with logic.
BOTTOM HALF
Lammons-Withrow certainly are the power duo in this third quarter, but their opener is the big question mark for me. I think if they avoid the New Zealanders (Daniell-Venus), then the Americans have a real shot to push through this quarter. Obviously I’m big on Daniell-Venus being disruptors in this section. The other unseeded duo I want to see is Humbert-Shelton. They’re both lean, athletic machines in singles, but can they compliment each other enough in a doubles setting? We’ve seen Shelton’s athletic play turn doubles matches into must-see TV and this team could have that sort of vibe … or they could have zero chemistry and zero chance. Let’s not forget for a lot of these first time teams that it’s the first matches of a season they’re about to play without having a ton of time to work on chemistry. I think that’s especially important to consider with the singles guys who certainly will be focused more so on the singles draw. A team that could be a powder keg here is Middelkoop-Molchanov. That’s another pair of very experienced doubles players who have had plenty of success over the years. They did play together in a Challenger 13+ years ago, but there’s obviously going to be a bit of a learning curve again.
The final quarter could be set up for a clash of former partners in the quarterfinals if seeding holds. Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara parted ways at the end of 2023 after three years together. That pairing saw them elevate themselves from Challenger specialists into Tour Finals’ participants in 2022. Both have veterans partners in their new team-ups with Glasspool choosing Jean-Julien Rojer and Heliovaara going with Peers. Peers certainly will welcome the stability of an every-tournament partner again after partner hopping with ten players last season. Interestingly, his final partner of 2023 was Glasspool. Peers has played this “home” tournament plenty in his career, winning with Henri Kontinen in 2016 and 2018 along with another title run with Jamie Murray in 2015. Do we smell Aussie magic with a new partner this time? Both the #2 and #8 seeds could be set for success here with inexperienced or first time duos all around the quarter. Two unseeded teams to watch here are the singles mingling with DImitrov-Korda and Barrientos-Matos. Barrientos-Matos are super talented doubles guys.
THE PIG’S DRAW PROJECTION
Q1 QF: (1)Krawietz-Puetz v (7)Escobar-Nedovyesov
Q2 QF: Mies-Smith v Purcell-Thompson
Q3 QF: (8)Bhambri-Haase v Daniell-Venus
Q4 QF: (2)Glasspool-Rojer v (6)Heliovaara-Peers
PIG PIX
Heliovaara-Peers
Purcell-Thompson
Catch me on “X” @tennispig any time to talk doubles and yes, I’ll still give a singles opinion when you ask. Look for PIGPIX posted daily and let’s get people to #WatchMoreDoubles in 2024!
DOUBLES TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS & PICKS 