AUCKLAND: NOTABLES & TRENDS
*2023 was the first time the ASB Classic had been played since 2020. Mektic-Pavic took the titles last year over Lammons-Withrow. They were the first top seeds to win in Auckland since Marach-Pavic back in 2018.
*The last unseeded pair to win the titles in Auckland were Bambridge-McLachlan in 2020. McLachlan was also part of the championship mix in 2019, winning the titles alongside Struff. Ben McLachlan is in the draw in 2024 with New Zealand’s own Marcus Daniell. Daniell was a 2020 finalist paired with Philipp Oswald. Overall, there has been at least one unseeded finalist in Auckland in each of the last seven runs in New Zealand.
*Of the four seeded pairs in 2023, two lost their openers. Lammons-Withrow took out (4)Murray-Venus as 2.76 (+176) underdogs, while Erler-Miedler ousted (3)Bolelli-Fognini as 2.61 (+161) dogs. The largest dog hit of the tournament last year came via Lammons-Withrow taking out (2)Granollers-Zeballos in the semifinals at 3.74 (+274). Those were the only underdog scores out of 13 matches completed in 2023.
*Three of the four seeded pairs this year are making their season debuts this week. (1)Granollers-Zeballos made the semifinals in Auckland last year. Keep an eye on their match totals as four of their six regulation sets went to tie breaks. (2)Gonzalez-Molteni and (3)Murray-Venus are both winless in Auckland after losing their opening matches last year. Both came via super tie break finishes.
*We will also see the season debut of a new 2024 pairing with Koolhof-Mektic in Auckland. Koolhof had played the United Cup to start the year, while Mektic paired up with Hugo Nys in Brisbane. Koolhof-Mektic previously paired up in 2020, going 24-13. They made the US Open final and won the Tour Finals championship.
SINGLES MINGLE
*Auckland sees one bigger name team up of singles players this week, but it is a fun one and one that has had some success. Americans Ben Shelton and Christopher Eubanks will appear in their 6th tournament together. Last year, Eubanks-Shelton made the quarterfinals in Cincinnati with wins over Gille-Vliegen and Bopanna-Ebden. They went 2-2 overall with half those matches needed super tie breaks to be settled. Of their eight regulation sets, three went to tie breaks and two more ended in scorelines of 7-5. Three of their four matches came against eventual Tour Finals’ teams and they start 2024 in the same position as they’ll face Gonzalez-Molteni to start. There is also Fabian Marozsan and Sebastian Ofner as a singles duo, if that makes sense to say. While neither plays a ton of doubles, they were competent in an opening loss last week in Hong Kong against Erler-Miedler.
SEEDS: ONE AND DONE WATCH (First Match Upset Watch)
(1)Granollers-Zeballos
This veteran duo has been pretty solid the last two years about hitting the ground running in the Aussie-New Zealand swing without stumbling, but I still think they belong on the list. They face Kiwi Marcus Daniell and Auckland assassin Ben McLachlan in their opener. I outlined the success McLachlan has seen here in the past and Daniell-McLachlan do have a little bit of previous experience playing together. This is probably the spot where they’d have the best shot to get a win over the top seeds, perhaps before they find their groove in the new season.
(2)Gonzalez-Molteni
This is a difficult spot for the two seeds who were a surprise package in 2023. They wound up in the Tour Finals field and proved to be more than just clay court threats with titles during the North American hard court swing in DC and Cincinnati. Their opener comes against Shelton-Eubanks who are listed as the short favorites for this match. I do think that’s appropriate given how competitive these two big serving Americans were in limited doubles exposure last year. They obviously were not awe struck of those spots against some of the top teams albeit those matches came in the United States. This still seems like a good possibility of a seeded scalp though if the Americans bring the consistency on serve.
(3)Murray-Venus
There could be an early upset on tap with Murray-Venus playing their first match together in 2024, while facing a hot team in Gille-Vliegen that made the Hong Kong final. The Belgians split a pair of matches against Murray-Venus last season, with both coming on outdoor hard courts. Gille-Vliegen won in Washington DC in a super tie break, while Murray-Venus paid them back with a super tie break win later in the season in Tokyo. Oddsmakers see this as a straight up pick ’em and that seems far based on their previous encounters.
(4)Lammons-Withrow
The Americans get the unfortunate task of a repeat match against Bhambri-Haase to start in Auckland or perhaps fortuitous with revenge on their minds? Last week in Brisbane, Bhambri-Haase edged the Americans 7-6, 7-6. Bhambri-Haase had an impressive week, making the semifinals where they narrowly lost 11-9 in a super tie break to eventual champions Glasspool-Rojer. It is tough to beat a team or player two weeks in a row, but this figures to be a fight again. Bhambri-Haase are listed around 2.38 (+138) for this match.
DRAW PREVIEW
TOP HALF
This first quarter is going to be all about how Granollers-Zeballos look in their first match of the season. The top seeds are the clear class here, but you’ve got some intriguing unseeded duos that definitely can spring the upset. I’ve already touched on Daniell-McLachlan who open against the top seeds. The big question there is if they can find chemistry and confidence to push for the upset. The match opposite of this one sees wild cards Sitak-Statham against a regular pairing of Austrians in Arneodo-Weissborn. The Aussies have some experience together, but it was a DECADE ago in 2013 that they last paired up. Arenedo-Weissborn are better on clay, but have proven to be competitive on hard courts too. They split two matches in Brisbane last week, losing a tough double tie break encounter with Lammons-Withrow. They should find their way to the quarterfinals where I think they would be overmatched against Granollers-Zeballos, but perhaps having a shot agaist Daniell-McLachland if the upset is sprung.
This second quarter looks very entertaining. You start right away with the rematch between Lammons-Withrow and Bhambri-Haase that figures to be a 50-50 call. Then you toss in Hong Kong champs Arevalo-Pavic along up against Cash-Galloway. Cash-Galloway also played Hong Kong to start 2024 with a solid super tie break win over Doumbia-Reboul to start before losing to Gille-Vliegen 7-6, 7-5 in the semifinals. Arevalo-Pavic displayed the kind of chemistry you want in a new pairing as they went 4-0 last week. Only one match went to a super tie break, so they were rock solid overall. This seems like a big week for them as they can prove themselves to be a top flight team right out of the gate with another strong week. This draw is definitely tougher for them I think than what they saw early last week. I’d love to get an Arevalo-Pavic vs Lammons-Withrow quarterfinal. Lammons-Withrow remain a good love for the OVERS totals lovers as they played four sets and four tie breaks last week in Brisbane. In their run last year in Auckland, five of their eight regulation sets went to tie breaks.
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter looks set up for the survivor of the opener against Murray-Venus and Gille-Vliegen to be the team to beat. While Doumbia-Reboul showed some chops on this surface late last season with a title in Chengdu and a semifinal run in Shanghai, they’re still better on clay. Don’t count them into the quarters either as Marozsan-Ofner competed well in their first match together last week in Hong Kong. They lost 11-8 to Erler-Miedler in a super tie break in their lone match. I think that one could at least go to the STB before being decided. As for Murray-Venus and Gille-Vliegen, pick your poison. Gille-Vliegen get the nod for already having played this year and having some good form carrying over. Murray-Venus were quick starters in their first team up last year in Adelaide, but went just 1-2 combined in Auckland and Melbourne after that run. The safest guess might be that we see a super tie break between the two, but calling a winner is difficult. If I had to, I’m going with Murray-Venus because the Belgians on hard courts have not often followed up big results with matching ones.
The final quarter is full of intrigue for me. From the debut of Gonzalez-Molteni to the 2024 debut of Koolhof-Mektic, there are more questions than answers. Toss in the power combo of Eubanks-Shelton and the regular pairing of Erler-Miedler, and this quarter really could go just about any way. I’m probably leaning towards Eubanks-Shelton in their clash against the two seeds (Gonzalez-Molteni). As for Koolhof-Mektic, will their chemistry return quickly? Having had different partners just last week, it’s not an ideal set up, but these are two savvy vets who know how to compete well. It should be noted their 2020 team up started rather middling in Australia with four matches split between Adelaide and Melbourne. They didn’t really get going until making a final in Marseille in their fourth tournament together. Erler-Miedler made the semifinals here a year ago and certainly could take advantage of any rust that Koolhof-Mektic need to work off.
THE PIG’S DRAW PROJECTION
Q1 QF: (1)Granollers-Zeballos v Arneodo-Weissborn
Q2 QF: (4)Lammons-Withrow v Arevalo-Pavic
Q3 QF: Marozsan-Ofner v (3)Murray-Venus
Q4 QF: Koolhof-Mektic v Eubanks-Shelton
PIG PIX
Granollers-Zeballos
Arevalo-Pavic
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!
LAST WEEK’S PIGPIX
DOUBLES TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS & PICKS 