DALLAS OPEN: NOTABLES & TRENDS
*2024 marks the 3rd run of the Dallas Open and the top seeds have yet to lose this tournament. Last year, it was Jamie Murray and Michael Venus taking the titles over the two seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow. Arevalo-Rojer were the inaugural Dallas doubles champs back in 2022. Both winners were firm favorites in the title match with Murray-Venus winning at 1.54 (-185) and Arevalo-Rojer at 1.67 (-149).
*After the first run in Dallas saw a trio of unseeded duos in the semifinals, 2023 saw three of the four semifinal slots go to seeded teams. As such, the number of underdog wins in 2023 in Dallas was nearly nothing. Only ONE underdog score came in out of the 15 completed matches. That came when (3)Cash-Patten were upset in the quarterfinals by Bhambri-Myneni who were listed at 2.47 (+147). 2022 only had three underdog winners ranging from 2.04 (+104) to 2.59 (+159).
*One thing that did stick out regardless of being a seed or not: Dallas so far has gone to experienced teams. Of the eight semifinal squads over two years, only two were not regular pairs. Both of those came in 2022 when John Isner and Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow paired with Sam Querrey. Isner-Sock did have quite a bit of time together in the past, but had not been a regular pairing more often than not over the years.
*Super tie break matches were a big story at the 2023 Dallas Open with eight of 15 matches needing the STB to settle a split of the first two sets in a match. That number doubled from just four STB matches in 2022. Tie break sets of 7-6 fell from 14 in 2022 to just eight in 2023, so there was not really a trend to follow in that regard either at this tournament.
SINGLES MINGLE
With the small field of just 16 teams, you wouldn’t expect to see too many of the singles players pulling double duty, but there are few choosing that path in Dallas. The big name is the first one I’ll focus on:
Shelton-Nava
Ben Shelton will once again have his name in the doubles draw, something that’s been a good habit so far in his career. He’s teaming with Emilio Nava for the first time. Shelton has played quite a bit of doubles as he’s come up through the ranks with 65 doubles matches already to his credit. In 2023, he went 12-17 in doubles. So far in 2024, he’s split a pair of matches – a win with Ugo Humbert as his partner in Brisbane and a loss with Christopher Eubanks in Melbourne. Nava has played just 30 doubles match in his young career, but he did have a nice run at the Canberra Challenger to start the year with Gabriel Diallo. That duo made the semifinals (2-1). This is an intriguing team.
Purcell-Thompson
The Aussies are more of a regular duo, but I put them here because both guys are in the singles draw as well this week. Purcell-Thompson are seeded fourth here and have racked up a 4-1 mark so far in 2024. They are 17-5 in limited career play together, but are an obvious threat any time they lace up their shoes and enter a doubles draw.
Duckworth-Michelsen
A one-off duo for the week that draws Purcell-Thompson in round one. Michelsen has actually played a decent amount on the doubles court the last few years with 20 total wins across all competitions. Most of it came at the Futures level, but he did make a few Challenger semifinals in 2023. Duckworth is the elder statesmen at 32, but has only played a handful of doubles the last few years. He’s lost the last eight doubles matches he’s been involved in dating back to 2022.
Harris-Koepfer
Koepfer is the double duty guy in this situation and deserves mention after his surprise run alongside Yannick Hanfmann to the Australian Open semifinals. He’s played sporadically for the most part in doubles, but has paired with Aussie Andrew Harris in the past. That includes another suprise run that came in Los Cabos in 2023. The pair made the final, losing to Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin in the final. They are definitely a team that should be on your radar this week for possible upset purposes.
SEEDS: ONE AND DONE WATCH (First Match Upset Watch)
(3)Cash-Galloway
These guys are perfectly serviceable as a tandem with a 14-8 record together, but just 2-4 in 2024. They fight hard as witnessed by five of their six matches going the distance this year. They’ll square off with the North Carolina connection in Blumberg-Hijikata. The former collegiate Tar Heels did play at Los Cabos last year for their first pro team-up, going 1-1. Both are certainly very good doubles players with Blumberg perhaps being one of the more underrated guys to me. He’s won three ATP doubles titles with three different partners. Hijikata obviously you should know from the 2023 Australian Open championship run with Jason Kubler. I think they’re a tough match-up for the three seeds and at the last expecting this to probably need a super tie break to settle.
(4)Purcell-Thompson
I’m a big fan of this partnership, but they’ve got a tough draw with Harris-Koepfer in round one. I’m not sure Harris-Koepfer hit the ground running with the upset, but I would not be surprised if this one was tight. Purcell-Thompson were generally very good early at tournaments in 2023 when they played together, losing their opener just once in six tournaments. That’s carried over into 2024 with a 4-1 record and no early upsets in two tournaments played.
DRAW PREVIEW
TOP HALF
This first quarter with (1)Gonzalez-Skupski should be set up to see that top seeded trend continue in Dallas, at least to a semifinal berth. Although their partnership is still in its infancy, these two vets have been solid even in losses. King-Stalder are an experienced pair, but one that has had trouble winning above the Challenger level. They haven’t been blown out mostly, so don’t be surprised to see a tight opener. The opposite match in this quarter sees two first time pairings with Escobar-Mansouri and Demoliner-Goransson. Mansouri has been rock solid at Challengers early this season with Luke Johnson, while Escobar has been tough alongside Nedovyesov. Demoliner and Goransson have both displayed the usual veteran prowess with different partners early in 2024. It’s tough to call a winner in that way since there’s no telling what sort of chemistry will brew for the two. As such, that again should really give Gonzalez-Skupski the leg up as long as they avoid any early rust.
The other quarter features (4)Purcell-Thompson. That opener against Harris-Koepfer should provide a good litmus test for the Aussies. There is definitely some upset potential in that spot. The other match in this quadrant sees one normal pairing in Hidalgo-Rodriguez who have carved out a good living at Challengers the last two years with most of their damage on clay. Martinez/Reyes-Verela paired up 27 times in 2020, but this will be their first match together since then. There was an indoor Challenger final in that run here in Dallas, so perhaps good vibes help them? For me, this one should be all about who survives the Purcell-Thompson vs Harris-Koepfer clash. They’re favorites to push into the semifinals for me.
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter looks wide open with (3)Cash-Galloway in a challenging spot. I already touched on that tough opener against Blumberg-Hijikata for the seeds. That certainly could line up for a small underdog win for the North Carolina products. The match on the other side of the quarter should favor Cabral-Patten who have some time togther albeit with only an 8-8 record, including 1-3 in 2024. Still, that built-in chemistry could give them the edge over the first timers Duckworth-Michelsen. Cabral-Patten did a lot of their 2023 work indoors and found some success with a Challenger final in Bergamo and they pushed Ram-Salisbury to a super tie break in a loss in Vienna. I’d pick between Blumberg-Hijikata and them as the sleepers in this section who may fight for that spot in the final four.
The final quarter is led by (2)Lammons-Withrow who have the experience of playing here last year with that finals run. The quarter screams that they should get through unless say Shelton and Nava have that flash-bang start and ride that momentum. One thing that you can usually count on with the seeded Americans here is tight matches. In seven played in 2024, Lammons-Withrow have gone the distance four times and seen two other matches settled in double tie break sets. Their run here in 2023 saw them play two super tie breaks in four matches with another match seeing a 7-5, 7-6 scoreline. Even though I favor them for the semifinals, it would be shocking if at least one, if not both matches, saw very tight scores.
THE PIG’S DRAW PROJECTION
Q1 QF: (1)Gonzalez-Skupski v Escobar-Mansouri
Q2 QF: (4)Purcell-Thompson v Hidalgo-Rodriguez
Q3 QF: Cabral-Patten v Blumberg-Hijikata
Q4 QF: Shelton-Nava v (2)Lammons-Withrow
PIG PIX
Gonzalez-Skupski
Blumberg-Hijikata
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 