MELBOURNE NEWS & NOTES
*There will be no repeat champions this year at the Australian Open after Bopanna-Ebden won the titles here a year ago. They’ve since split, but are both back with new partners. Bopanna-Ebden’s title run in 2024 was the first by a seeded pair since 2021. The previous two runs in Melbourne were won by unseeded all-Aussie pairs in Hijikata-Kubler (23) and Kokkinakis-Kyrgios (22). Bopanna-Ebden were monster favorites in the 2024 final at 1.44 (-227) over unseeded Italians Bolelli-Vavassori.
*The Italians appearance in the final made it five straight years that an unseeded duo has made the final. Three of last year’s four semifinalists were not seeded. That made it five of the last six runs in Melbourne where at least two of the four semifinal teams were unseeded. Despite all the unseeded success, only two champions since 2013 have won the title as underdogs.
*Overall, underdog wins in 2024 numbered 22 out of the 63 completed matches. Nine of those scores came in round one with only two involving seeds going one and done. The largest scalp came in one of those instances with Machac-Zhang upsetting (15)Gille-Vliegen as 4.93 (+393) dogs. That was one of eight hits at 3.00 (+200) or better in 2024. Five of those involved a seed losing with one in round one, two in round two and two more in the round of 16.
*2024 did buck an underdog trend in the semifinals where at least one dog had risen up and scored a juicy win in four straight runs. Those dog scores ranged from a low of 2.79 (+179) to a high of 3.74 (+274). One trend continuing was the run of multiple dog wins in the quarterfinals. With three last year, that made it five of the last seven years that have seen at least two in that round.
*There were 25 three set finishes. Thirteen of those came in the opening round, which isn’t a surprise considering the volume of matches (32). Five of those involved seeded teams. One of the highest percentages by round came in the round of 16 with five of the eight matches needing the extra set to settle. Both semifinals also needed three sets. The 25 three setters were up slightly from 22 in 2023 and 20 in 2022. The only distinctive trend by round is that we have not seen a men’s final go three sets since 2016.
*The seed chart below shows the tracking for all seeded pairs over the last six years. You can see that Bopanna-Ebden’s championship as the two seeds broke a string of a top four seed not having won in a while. The last time was in 2017 when Kontinen-Peers won as the four seeds. 2024 also looks like an outlier as far as seeds going out early with only two pairs going one and done a year ago. Outside of the pandemic year 2020, at least four seeds had lost their openers each year since 2018. The other thing really sticking out is the lack of success for the #1 seed. 2013 was the last time the top seeds had been as far as the semifinals when the Bryans won the men’s titles. That was the end of their magical five year run, where they won the championship four times and made the final all five years.
THE UNSEEDED MENACES
As I mentioned above, unseeded pairs have been able to weave their way into the Australian Open final. Five of the last six finalists have not been seeded. Half of those were all-Aussie combinations with last year being the first time since 2021 that an all-Aussie team had not made the men’s final. With that said, here are the unseeded duos to watch in this year’s draw.
Krajicek-Ram
The 2024 Olympic silver medalists could be one of the most dangerous floaters of all … if both are healthy. That is a huge question heading into the tournament with Krajicek retiring from a match in Brisbane and then Ram doing the same this past week in Auckland paired with Christian Harrison. Ram and Harrison had made the final, so it was a disappointing finish. That means the American pair have only played one full match so far this year. They finished 2024 in a slump following a couple of solid Davis Cup wins. They lost four of their last five matches on tour, but all five went to super tie breaks. They’re obviously going to be competitive IF healthy. Drawing a new pair in (9)Ebden-Vliegen means an upset is possible if both have recovered from injury.
Machac-Zhang
They’re back! Our favorite “singles pair” from 2024 burst on the scene here in Melbourne last season. They had never paired before, but made it to the semifinals with wins over Gille-Vliegen and Ram-Salisbury to highlight the run. They also narrowly lost to the eventual champions, Bopanna-Ebden, in a third set tie break in the semis. The draw potentially sets them up against (2)Granollers-Zeballos in round two. That’s a pair they faced twice in 2024 with the regular doubles partners cruising in the rematch at the French Open 6-4, 6-1 after Machac-Zhang had won in Barcelona in a super tie break (10-5). They also had trouble winning down the stretch in 2024 with losses in four of their last five. Three of those went the distance.
Arends-Johnson
They might be little known to most, but this Dutch-Brit pair have done nothing but win since pairing up for the first time in 2024. They’re now 19-5 together after winning Hong Kong to start 2025. Not surprisingly, they suffered the championship hangover/jet lag in Auckland just a few days later in an opening loss to Bhambri-Olivetti. They won their first two Challenger tournaments together on hard courts last season and finished 2024 with a title run indoors in Metz. The confidence is there and they’ll be rested after the early exit in New Zealand. Watch out for these guys depending on how their draw shakes out.
Nouza-Rikl
This all-Czech duo gets their first taste of Slam tennis. They were Challenger Kings in 2024 with five titles and seven finals in all to go with a 42-19 record. They made their ATP-level debut on clay mid-season with two losses, but turned up in Stockholm late in the year in making the final. They beat Cash-Glasspool and Nys-Zielinski en route to a finals’ loss to Heliovaara-Patten. Fast forward to Adelaide in 2025 with the pair scoring a nice win over Salisbury-Skupski before losing to Krawietz-Puetz 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Clay has been their best surface, but they’ve shown the ability to get big wins on hard courts in limited action. The question here is how they respond to being in the spotlight of a Grand Slam, but they don’t seem to shy away from the competition. They get (16)Doumbia-Reboul in round one.
Kokkinakis-Kyrgios
The 2022 champs are putting the band back together for the first time since the ATP Finals that same year. Recapturing that magic and recreating the madhouse that the courts in Melbourne became when they played may not be a realistic expectation, but it’s also not something that I’d bet against either. The biggest questions are going to surround the physical fitness/health of both. Kyrgios has played just one competitive match this year after missing the better part of two seasons. Kokkinakis looked good in Adelaide, but withdrew before a quarterfinal against Sebastian Korda due to a shoulder injury. While it may have just been preventative ahead of the first Grand Slam, it probably doesn’t bode well that his body is already nicked up ahead of pulling double duty in this tournament. They’ll still be promoted as “must see” doubles and their placement in the draw might not be easy, but the seeded pairs are beatable. A quarterfinal MAY be possible, but health really tempers high expectations for me.
Matos-Melo
The Brazilians played quite a bit together in 2024 with a 13-12 mark. They made a pair of finals and went 4-3 at three Grand Slams events. The losses came to Bolelli-Vavassori, Heliovaara-Patten and Koolhof-Mektic. They split two matches in prep in Adelaide with both going to super tie breaks. One was a win over Murray-Peers, the other a loss to Arevalo-Pavic. They may not make it deep, but they have been a tough out more often than not and will certainly make their opposition earn any wins they get. (15)Nys-Roger Vasselin are first up, so it could be one and done or an upset could ignite a surprising run.
Pavlasek-Rojer
This is one of my sleeper teams for 2024. They paired up for a handful of matches last year with a nice semifinal run in Shanghai to highlight their brief time together. They haven’t found the win column yet in 2025 at 0-2, but they have been competitive. This pair is in a part of the draw with new duo (14)Barrientos-Bopanna and I believe there’s a shot for these guys to get through to the round of 16. It might be tough for them to go any farther than that with Bolelli-Vavassori likely in their path there, but I’d be excited to see that match happen to gauge where this pair can go.
Duckworth-Vukic
Could this be the sleeper all-Aussie team to watch? They’ve played just three matches together with two coming earlier in the season in Brisbane. A win over Heliovaara-Patten announces them as a potential threat. While neither plays doubles regularly, Duckworth has played Melbourne plenty in his career with multiple partners. Most recently, it was Marc Polmans and the two nearly derailed Bopanna-Ebden in round one last year. They lost 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. The duo did make round three back in 2021 and the quarterfinals in 2020. Vukic has played doubles at the Australian Open three straight years, but has not found the same success. They get Kokkinakis-Kyrgios first, so the atmosphere in their first match is going to be insane. I feel like the survivor of that one is going to be latched onto by the Melbourne crowds and perhaps then gets the juice to make a run.
Bhambri-Olivetti
These guys are just getting better and better on this surface with more reps. They went 3-2 in the Aussie prep tournaments with wins over Frantzen-Jebens, Arends-Johnson and Cash-Glasspool. They were 5-3 in limited play on outdoor hard courts last year in their first season pairing up. The highlight was a finals run in Chengdu and they also made round three of the U.S. Open. Their part of the draw will be one to watch as they will meet the Ebden-Vliegen vs Krajicek-Ram winner if they advance to round two. (6)Heliovaara-Patten would likely be the seeds looking to prevent them from making a quarterfinal if they get to that spot.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Every week, I’ll be look at the seeds and which ones look prone to upsets in their opening matches. Last year’s Australian Open did not have many early upsets as far as seeds with just two losing their first round matches. As I highlighted, that is unusual though as you can normally expect a handful of seeds to fall early.
The interesting thing to me is that a majority of the seeded upsets early DO NOT involve teams that are “newer” or first-time pairs. Let’s take a look at the ones who look most prone to going home early in 2025.
(7)Lammons-Withrow
The Americans get fellow American pairs Giron-King in round one. Those two are playing together for the first time, so you might be saying, why would Lammons-Withrow be on upset watch? For me, it’s simply about their propensity to play very close matches. They already lost to a “singles pairs” in Lehecka-Mensik in Brisbane earlier in the year, so Giron-King may feel their lack of experience won’t be as big a deal as some think. Giron has however lost five of his last six round one doubles matches at Grand Slams, so that is going against him and King. King is a very experience doubles guy however, so he’ll be ready for this opportunity. I think Giron-King need to stay close early, but if they do, the pressure turns to the #7 seeds.
(8)Gonzalez-Molteni
This is a gut feeling as the Argentines have a wealth of experience over their Aussie foes Saville-Tu. Gonzalez-Molteni were consistent at the Slams last year with quarterfinals finishes in three of four. Their 2025 has consisted of just two matches, a win and a loss, with both going to super tie breaks. Saville-Tu are 11-8 over the past few years in action together with most of it at the Challenger level. Saville has been a regular at the Australian Open with other Aussies with his most famous doubles result coming in 2020. He paired with Max Purcell to make a finals run where they lost to Ram-Salisbury. The Aussies may fall flat, but Melbourne has seen plenty of unexpected all-Aussie pairs making runs. Keep an eye on this round one match.
(9)Ebden-Vliegen
This one will be dependent on the health of Krajicek-Ram, who they are set to meet in round one. I talked about it earlier with both Krajicek and Ram suffering injuries early this season. Krajicek sat out Auckland while Ram teamed up with Christian Harrison. All was looking good until the semifinals when Raj was injured. If it was more a preventative thing for Ram, then perhaps he will be okay to go. I’m assuming Krajicek is healthier after sitting a week or they might not even be listed in the draw. Ebden-Vliegen are beginning a new partnership of 2025, splitting a pair of matches in Adelaide. I liked that they stuck with Bolelli-Vavassori in a 7-5, 7-6 loss and they’re likely to get better with more reps. They may just need to escape round one to be considered contenders in the bottom half.
(15)Nys/Roger-Vasselin
Another new pairing for 2025 that is in its infancy with three matches in Adelaide. They looked good in beating Pavlasek-Rojer and Lammons-Withrow, so they may well avoid any trouble early. They do have a difficult opener I feel against Matos-Melo. As I’ve said with the Brazilians though, they’re often very competitive, but have trouble finishing off big wins. Both their matches to start 2025 ended in super tie breaks (1-1). They were 4-3 at Slams in 2024, but again had difficulty beating upper echelon pairs. Perhaps getting this early in the season helps with Nys-ERV still feeling each other out?
(16)Doumbia-Reboul
The All-French duo is 1-2 in their two trips to Melbourne and they have a tough opener against the surprising Czechs Nouza-Rikl. They have struggled at Grand Slams over the past year and a half, losing their openers in three of the last four Slams they’ve played. If the moment isn’t too big for the Czechs, that one has big upset potential.
*Access the men’s draw by clicking DRAW PREVIEW above*
TOP HALF
First Quarter
(1)Arevalo-Pavic lead the way with the top seeds in good form early with a semifinal showing in Adelaide. They draw 2023 champs Hijikata-Kubler first. As most expected, the Aussies have not been able to follow up that electric run and they haven’t paired a lot over the last year. The Aussies lost in round two a year ago and while the crowd may help lift them enough to provide a brief scare, expect Arevalo-Pavic to move on. The 2024 French Open champs will like their draw overall with first timers Norrie-Willis or inexperienced pair Escobar-JP Smith waiting in round two. Doumbia-Reboul are the other seeds in this top half of the quarter. They may be fortunate to survive Nouza-Rikl in round one. If they do advance, a dangerous duo in Arends-Johnson likely wait in round two. Arevalo-Pavic should have every chance this time around to better their third round finish here in their Slam debut together in 2024. Keep your eyes on Arends-Johnson as the sleepers in this section.
In the bottom half, (8)Gonzalez-Molteni and (10)Salisbury-Skupski are the seeded pairs. This part of the draw is absolutely stacked with unseeded danger duos. The big ones to watch will be squaring off in round one with Kokkinakis-Kyrgios battling Duckworth-Vukic. Gonzalez-Molteni are going to see nothing but raucous crowds early with Aussies Saville-Tu up first and then the survivor of that all-Aussie battle IF they make round two. That’s a tough road, but they did show great quality at Slams in 2024. I think Kokkinakis-Kyrgios are going to be the popular picks in this half, but I still have those questions regarding health. For me, it might be Duckworth-Vukic who emerge as the surprise package if there is one in this section. Salisbury-Skupski have a better early draw against the singles guys in Baez-Comesana. That is good news for the Brits who lost their 2025 opener to Nouza-Rikl. Round two will be a trouble spot I think though with either Goransson-Verbeek or Erler-Mies. Goransson-Verbeek might be the ones to watch with Erler-Mies also still working out the kinks as their new partnership begins.
Arevalo-Pavic, on paper, are the clear class of this half on this surface. That said, there are plenty of twists and turns waiting here with some of these new pairings perhaps growing in confidence if the results come. Salisbury-Skupski are definitely ones who could fall into that category, but their half has so many Aussies in it that could wreak havoc. I’d be a bit surprised not to see Arevalo-Pavic in the quarters. Who they face is the bigger mystery. I just don’t trust the health of Kokkinakis-Kyrgios to pick them as a dark horse. I’m still looking at Duckworth-Vukic and Goransson-Verbeek also could challenge. Of course this is also one of those spots where the consistency of a veteran duo like Gonzalez-Molteni may just wind up being the best bet.
My Favorite: (1)Arevalo-Pavic
My Sleeper: Duckworth-Vukic
Second Quarter
The top half of this quarter is led by the team that had a great run in Adelaide to win the titles in (3)Bolelli-Vavassori. The Italians were finalists here a year ago and I think they’re hungry after making a pair of Slam finals in 2024, but falling short in both finals. Their half also has new pair (14)Barrientos-Bopanna. Bopanna of course is half of last year’s championship tandem with Matt Ebden, but it’s going to be tough to be in the hunt this year. These are two quality vets, but they’ve had just one match together so far. Playing Martinez-Munar in round one should give them a good chance to grab their first victory as a team. Round two is where I suspect they may run into trouble if Pavlasek-Rojer can find the win column against Arneodo-Cazaux. Arneodo-Cazaux were competitive in their 2025 opener in Brisbane, but lost 6-4, 7-5 to Harrison-Willis. I think facing a pair of quality vets isn’t the best opener for them. I do think Pavlasek-Rojer have a shot to get to round three with this draw. As for Bolelli-Vavassori, Frantzen-Jebens can be tricky. The Germans have been tough in two losses to start 2025, but that’s the problem, getting wins. Do remember though that they did spring some surprises last Summer at Wimbledon in making the quarterfinals, so the Italians will need to be on top of their game. That opener should be more harsh than what they face in round two. Bolelli-Vavassori are the obvious favorites to get to the quarterfinals with this draw. Keep an eye on Pavlasek-Rojer especially if Frantzen-Jebens shock the world and open up the draw.
The bottom half of the quarter features Auckland champs (5)Mektic-Venus and (12)Murray-Peers. Mektic-Venus went the distance in four of their five matches to start the year with a 4-1 record. Getting full sets instead of a super tie break to settle things should actually help them with a little bit more wiggle room for error. They face a pair in Borges-Cabral who have played plenty together, but have also struggled over the last year with a more limited slate of matches. They went 3-6 last year, but they did upset Nys-Zielinski in making round three at the U.S. Open. The Portuguese tandem could take a set, but I think Mektic-Venus find a way to win. A low-key banger is opposite of them in round one with Balaji/Reyes-Varela against Nedovyesov-Haase. Balaji/Reyes-Varela in particular intrigue me as the duo beat Barrientos-Bopanna in Adelaide and also took at set of Heliovaara-Patten in that same tournament. I expect the survivor to put up another good fight against Mektic-Venus, who may well be playing another three set match in round two.
Murray-Peers get the benefit of facing nothing but “singles pairs” early. They get Gojo-Kejmanovic first with that pairing playing for the first time together. Murray-Peers reformed last year after both lost their partners to swaps during the season. They finished 19-7 overall, but have yet to score a win in two matches in 2025. Murray-Peers will be hoping to reignite their partnership from the mid 2010s when they last played the Australian Open in 2015. They did not advance past the round of 16 in two trips. They could at least equal that this year. Round two would see them against either Griekspoor-van de Zandschulp or O’Connell-Safiullin. The Dutch pair have played quite a bit together (21 matches), but this is their first since 2023. O’Connell-Safiullin are interesting because both can be serve machines when in rhythm. That alone could make them tough with Murray-Peers biggest weakness to me being their serve consistency.
Bolelli-Vavassori will be penciled in for one of the quarterfinal spots by most and it’s hard to argue against that one. Still, Melbourne has been a breeding ground for unseeded quarterfinal duos in recent years, so I’m not counting out a surprise or two. The other spot could be more difficult to pick. While Mektic-Venus have been grabbing wins early, they’ve come in hard fought matches. I do think again that playing a full third set versus a super tie break is a big bonus for them. I’d love to see Murray-Peers get rolling again, but I fear their serves could let them down even against teams with less overall chemistry. A Bolelli-Vavassori vs Mektic-Venus quarterfinal would definitely qualify for a BANGER ALERT.
My Favorite: (3)Bolelli-Vavassori
My Sleeper: Pavlasek-Rojer
BOTTOM HALF
Third Quarter
The top half houses seeds (7)Lammons-Withrow and (11)Cash-Glasspool. Cash-Glasspool have looked promising early on in 2025 with a title run in Brisbane and a 4-1 record overall. They are another team that has needed super tie breaks quite often with four played out of five matches. They get Cerundolo-Etcheverry, who have become a regular name we see at some of the major tournaments. Their 2-10 record last year tells you most of what you need to know overall for these two singles players. Oh yeah, they’re 0-8 on hard courts in their careers together. Expect Cash-Glasspool to get through and then it could be interesting if Gonzalez-Miedler can find their way to round two. They play an interesting young Japanese pair in Watanuki-Yuzuki. Those two won a couple of Challengers in 2024 en route to a 28-17 record. They stayed in Nonthaburi for both Challengers to start 2025 with semifinal runs in both. It’s a step up for the wild card entries, but they get Gonzalez-Miedler still working to find their chemistry as a new pairing in 2025. They went 1-2 in prep work, so don’t be that surprised if the Japanese duo makes it competitive. I do think Gonzalez-Miedler would be the bigger threats to Cash-Glasspool in round two.
Lammons-Withrow open with Giron-King. I talked about how this all-American clash could be close because that’s kind of the Lammons-Withrow way of life. They SHOULD make it through, but I won’t be stunned if it’s close. Round two would yield a meeting with Bublik-Shevchenko or Behar-Galloway. The all-Kazakhstan duo of Bublik-Shevchenko does have Slam experience, but they’ve only played six matches together. Behar-Galloway got some experience together last year with a 7-6 record, but lost their opener in Auckland this year. They did show well on this surface last year during the Asian swing with six of their wins coming in three of those tournaments. They’re a bit of a sleeper for me in this section, but they need to start fast over the singles guys. If they get Lammons-Withrow in round two, remember they beat the Americans in a super tie break in Tokyo last Fall. This is a wide open part of the quarter for me. While I do like Cash-Glasspool a lot, their propensity to play all those super tie breaks is a bit worrying. Getting a full set to finish a match could negate some of those nervy results, but between them and Lammons-Withrow, you have two seeds who play with some small margins. That leaves them prone to an upset.
The bottom half of the quarter sees (4)Krawietz-Puetz leading the way. The Germans made the Adelaide final, losing to Bolelli-Vavassori 4-6, 7-6, 11-9. Their path to another Australian Open quarterfinal looks promising however with some solid early matchups in their favor. They start with Goffin-Muller. It’s hard to see that pairing pulling off the upset. Round two will see Cornea-Navone or Harrison-Pel. The advantage is still very much to the four seeds. The other side of this half features (13)Gille-Zielinksi. That’s another new pair for 2025 and they have just one match under their belts. They lost to Dodig-Mansouri 7-5, 7-6 in Adelaide. Like Krawietz-Puetz, their draw looks nicely set up for a few wins early on. The one interesting combo that might get in their way are Vasek Pospisil and Jordan Thompson. With Max Purcell suspended to start 2025, Thompson found him a partner for this week. We remember Pospisil as an accomplished doubles guy, don’t we? Well, settle down because that was almost a decade ago that he was relevant on the doubles court. Of late, it’s been a massive struggle as its been for him in singles. He went 1-5 in doubles play in 2024 and most of his doubles play has been confined to Davis Cup rubbers the past few years. 2021 was the last time he played a Grand Slam doubles match at the U.S. Open. Thompson was a breakout star in doubles with Purcell last year with the Aussies making the Wimbledon final and then scoring the huge title win at the U.S. Open. The problem for Thompson has been playing without Purcell outside of the stunner when Seb Korda and the Aussie took the Madrid titles last year. That said, he’ll get the home support and this portion of the draw with Gille-Zielinski still learning on-the-job, could be ripe for the taking. Thompson’s health is a question mark however with leg injuries & a bout of plantar fascitis already causing concerns.
Krawietz-Puetz are certainly the favorites to grab the semifinal slot in this quarter. I do think they have a great shot to at least get to a quarterfinal. Who opposes them? Lammons-Withrow? Cash-Glasspool? A surprise team? The Germans split two matches with Lammons-Withrow, so that could be a good one, if it happens. I still like Cash-Glasspool a bit more, but they’ll need to prove themselves against the elite like Krawietz-Puetz. Behar-Galloway are still a dark horse type I think bears watching.
My Favorite: (4)Krawietz-Puetz
My Sleeper: (11)Cash-Glasspool
Fourth Quarter
We start the final quarter with the duo still searching for that elusive Grand Slam title in (2)Granollers-Zeballos. That search may continue as the pair have never been to a final in Melbourne. They did make back-to-back semifinals in 2022 and 2023, but lost in the round of 16 last year. I don’t think their lack of playing in tournaments prior to Melbourne is any sort of detriment as they have proven time and time again that they can come into a new season and make big noise quickly. They get Germans Schnaitter-Wallner to start. Those two playing a whopping 102 matches in 2024 with 66 wins. It’s a tough ask for this to be their debut Grand Slam match. Where people may be peeking ahead already is to a potential Granollers-Zeballos vs Machac-Zhang rematch in round two. They split a pair of matches last year with Granollers-Zeballos seeming to have figured them on the second time around. Still, sign me up for that one. The other part of this half pits (15)Nys-ERV against Matos-Melo in one of my favorite round one matchups. I think that’s going to be a fun watch and there is some upset potential. The survivor gets either Dodig-Mansouri or Aussie duo Ellis-Fancutt. The Aussies won a pair of Australian-based Challengers in 2024 in going 8-0, but lost their 2025 debut in Canberra. Dodig-Mansouri did well enough to make the quarters in Adelaide to start their season, but will there be some Aussie magic involved in this one? The top part of this half looks open with at least three teams I think capable of getting to round three. I do think Granoillers-Zeballos will be waiting and expected to get back to the last eight.
The other half looks fun with (6)Heliovaara-Patten and (9)Ebden-Vliegen as the seeded pairs. Heliovaara-Patten made a nice recovery in Adelaide after losing their season opener in Brisbane. They made the quarterfinals in Adelaide, losing a tight one to Krawietz-Puetz. Hard courts were not the best surface for the Wimbledon champs last year, but they did make a final in Beijing late after floundering around .500 through the North American swing. The team that could put up a fight early is the French combo of Guinard-Rinderknech. They’ve played quite a bit coming up through the years at the same time with a 23-14 record. They went 1-2 in prep to start the year off, with both losses coming in super tie breaks. This will be their first Grand Slam not named the French Open, but I like these guys. If Heliovaara-Patten get cut down early, they might be the ones to do so. As for Ebden-Vliegen, I think it’s all about that opener with Krajicek-Ram. They need to take advantage of any potential fitness concerns there and grab the opening win. If they do, watch out. Bhambri-Olivetti remain a big X-factor in this section, but don’t sleep on the Aussies Schoolkate-Walton in round one. They nearly scored a win over Cabral and Patten last year in round one, losing in a final set tie break and most of their work together has come on this surface. They could be tricky.
The two new 2025 pairs, Ebden-Vliegen and Nys-ERV, really fascinate me. There’s a lot of experience there, just not together. The skill levels though should keep them in their matches and if the chemistry starts hitting, then both of those duos are sleeper candidates. It’s hard to root against Granollers-Zeballos as they keep making runs, but coming up short of becoming the final bosses. I’d favor them more for a quarterfinal than I would for Heliovaara-Patten as the other high seed. Heliovaara-Patten may well come through, but there are a lot of landmines in their half. I really think the Ebden-Vliegen/Krajicek-Ram winner is going to be one to watch in making a deep, deep run.
My Favorite: (2)Granollers-Zeballos
My Sleeper: (15)Nys-ERV
CLOSING TIME
Melbourne has not been a place where chalk has been in the final that often of late. Bopanna-Ebden last year were the highest seed to win the final as a two since 2017. With unseeded finalists in four of the last five years, there are bound to be surprises. Four of the last six unseeded finalists here have been all-Aussie combinations. And again for me, I think you look beyond Kokkinakis-Kyrgios for your choice this year. They may well prove me wrong, but I just worry about the physicality that both can handle right now with Kyrgios coming back from the injuries that kept him off court for a long time, and Kokkinakis already sporting a sore shoulder. Duckworth-Vukic could be that team with the chance to beat the Special Ks in round one and perhaps be the surprise dark horse. Or it could be two straight years without an all-Aussie finalist, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep on the other unseeded X-factors. I gave you mine with Pavlasek-Rojer, Behar-Galloway, Balaji/Reyes-Varela and Bhambri-Olivetti on my list. And don’t forget Hong Kong champs Arends-Johnson. There’s plenty to choose from.
The Australian Open has been home to plenty of unexpected runs, so while I do like a lot of the paths for the high seeds, I’m siding with history in looking at my projected quarterfinal field:
(1)Arevalo-Pavic vs Duckworth-Vukic
Pavlasek-Rojer vs Balaji/Reyes-Varela
(11)Cash-Glasspool vs (4)Krawietz-Puetz
(9)Ebden-Vliegen vs (15)Nys/Roger-Vasselin
PIGPIX
Krawietz-Puetz
Arevalo-Pavic
DOUBLES TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS & PICKS 