VALENCIA NEWS & NOTES
*Last year’s Copa Faulconbridge was won by 3rd seeded Brazilians Demoliner-Luz. They defeated unseeded Cervantes-Cukierman 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 in the final. That marked the first super tie break finish in the Championship match in the four year history of this tournament. The title run was the second for a seeded pair at this stop.
*Super tie breaks numbered six last year out of 15 completed matches. Four of those came in the opening round. That was an uptick from the last two runs in Valencia when just two of the eight first round matches each season finished with STBs. One round that has been consistent in the history of this tournament is the semifinals with one of the two semis each season going to a super tie break. Don’t forget that at the tail end of the tournament.
*Unseeded pairs have made a habit of crashing the final, which isn’t all that surprising at the Challenger level. All four years of this tournament have seen at least one unseeded pair in the final with two unseeded champs in that span. Only 2024 pitted two unseeded duos against each other in the final. There have also been multiple unseeded pairs in the semifinals in three of four runs at Valencia overall. I’ll focus on the pairs to watch out for in 2026 in just a little bit.
*Underdogs didn’t have a great time in 2025 with only three dogs securing wins. All three did involve a seeded pair losing. The biggest hit came in round one at 2.65 (+165) when (2)Arribage-Olivetti lost. The other two came in at 2.15 (+115) and 2.13 (+113). That total for 2025 was down big time from seven underdog wins in 2024. The largest score came in the semis at 3.93 (+293). 2023 had just one underdog win and 2022 had six. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to how many dogs will bark in Valencia, but going against seeded pairs seems to be the way to go if you’re hunting those down.
*This year’s field is loaded with Luz-Matos leading the charge as the top seeds. The Brazilians currently rank 10th in the live ATP doubles race, about 350 points out of 8th. Veterans Marcelo Melo and Andres Molteni pair for the first time and are seeded second. Rounding out the seeded field are (3)Arends-Pel and Czechs Pavlasek-Rikl who have been ripping it up one clay with a 9-4 record despite losing in round one in Rome. That should make for a very nice week with some quality pairs ready to pursue a trophy.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
At least one unseeded pair has gone out in their opener in three of the four runs in Valencia. This will double as the UNSEEDED MENACES section with the pairs going up against the seeds looking like some of the most likely unseeded pairs to make a big run this week.
(1)Luz-Matos
It’s not a nice draw for the Brazilians with vets Kirkov-Stevens ready to rock against them in round one. That pair is 19-12 this season. They’ve made a pair of clay finals, one at the ATP level in Marrakech and the other coming last week at the Aix en Provence Challenger. This team is definitely looking like a lively underdog choice for some.
(2)Melo-Molteni
You can look at this from either side as a potential advance. You have two veteran players in the seeded duo, but a pair that has never played together in the past. On the other side, you’ve got Spanish wild cards Alvarez-Mansilla, who did play here back in 2022. The two 24-year-olds are 10-1 together on clay with a Challenger title and two other finals, one at a Challenger and the last at a Futures event. I would not be surprised to at least see the Spanish pair win a set and they’re definitely worth a look as big underdogs.
(3)Arends-Pel
They’ve got the reps with three tournaments and Davis Cup action in 2026. They are 0-4 in those matches though and face another all-Spanish team in Martinez-Zapata Miralles. They’ve played a little together over the years, but only have four wins in 13 matches. This shapes up to be interesting to me.
(4)Pavlasek-Rikl
This is another harsh matchup with Frantzen-Haase scheduled as their opening foes. Pavlasek-Rikl have done well to this point with a 9-4 record that included a finals run in Bucharest and a semifinal in Barcelona. Frantzen-Haase get the shot at revenge here after the seeded Czechs beat them in the Bucharest semifinals in a super tie break (10-7). This looks very 50-50 on the call, so it wouldn’t be a huge upset to see Frantzen-Haase advance.
For other unseeded menaces, see: Kiger-Stadler, Paul-Vocel, Barrientos-Behar
DRAW PREVIEW
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TOP HALF
The (1)Luz-Matos/Kirkov-Stevens match may go a long way in determining who makes the final out of this top half. Both these pairs a very capable of winning the titles in Valencia, but only one survives round one. This might be a welcome escape from the ATP Tour for the top seeds who have lost three straight at that level. Kirkov-Stevens come in off the finals run at Aix-en Provence, so the form advantage and confidence may well go to the unseeded team. I am expecting a tight one with a super tie break perhaps in the cards. I think you could pit these two against each other ten times and it might well end up split at 5-5. The survivor will be favored to make it out of the first quarter into the semifinals although Kiger-Stadler may have something to say about that. The two Americans made back-to-back semifinals at clay Challengers after winning a hard court title in Gwangju. They look like the sleepers in this quarter.
The second quarter looks wide open. Third seeds Arends-Pel have the ATP reps, but not the wins to follow them in this week. They face a pair of singles guys in Pedro Martinez and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. They have paired together, but not since 2022. I think Arends-Pel either absolutely crush it in this spot of this winds up in a super tie break where the underdogs could find their way to the win column. The Balaji-Demoliner versus Paul-Vocel match could be an underrrated banger. For Balaji-Demoliner, it’s just their second match together, but they were competititve against Pavlasek-Rikl in a super tie break lost in Cagliari. Paul-Vocel are plenty dangerous at 19-6 this year with three Challenger titles among their five finals trips at this level in 2026. They look promising in this section.
TOP HALF FORECAST
There’s plenty of quality here, so a seed is in no way guaranteed to be involved in the semifinals or final out of this half. I think you look at Kirkov-Stevens and Paul-Vocel as the two biggest threats in the unseeded field. I give Paul-Vocel a slight edge in that category simply because Kirkov-Stevens have to go through the top seeds in round one. They can do it, but they could also be headed home. Kiger-Stadler are the super sleepers in this half.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Kiger-Stadler vs Paul-Vocel
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter kicks off with a banger featuring (4)Pavlasek-Rikl battling Frantzen-Haase. This could be one of the better matches of the tournament … and it comes in round one. The survivor will be the ones pegged as favorites to grab the semifinal spot and I can’t argue with that logic. The match opposite this one pits Ugo Carabelli-Vallejo against Brancaccio-Lopez. That duo has played here before in 2022 and most of their limited success has come at Futures events. Give me Frantzen-Haase on the revenge tour in round one to ride that through to the semifinals.
(2)Melo-Molteni are the uknown factor with the two veterans never having paired in the past. It will be interesting to see what their chemistry is like or if they have any at all. Going against a saucy Spanish pair in Alvarez-Mansilla who have done very well on this surface so far in 2026 is a challenge. I would not be surprised to see the upset in this spot. The match on the other side of this quarter is another low-key banger with Barrientos-Behar taking on Hidalgo-Trhac. Barrientos-Behar are 11-5 on clay this year with three Challenger finals made and one title won. Hidalgo-Trhac likewise have been good this year at Challengers with two hard court titles and finals appearance on clay in Mexico City a few weeks ago. Hidalgo-Trhac’s last three matches have all gone to super tie breaks (1-2). I see this quarter as wide open and would give Barrientos-Behar the inside track.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
As you can see, I’m not too confident that any seeds are going to be involved in the business end of this week’s stop in Valencia. Then again, a lot of these matchups are very close to call and could just as easily go the other way in favor of the seeds. For me though, I’m looking at those outside the box shots in this half too. I’d definitely be looking at Pavlasek-Rikl if I was thinking about a seed making the run in this half, but that opener is very tough.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Frantzen-Haase vs Barrientos-Behar
Valencia looks like it could again see at least one unseeded pair in the final, if not two. This is a deep field and none of the seeds have been dominant lately. A lot of the unseeded danger duos come in with good success at the Challenger level, so they could well parlay that into another big run. Luz-Matos and Pavlasek-Rikl are the two seeds I like the most, but I’m still staying on Team Unseeded Menace in Valencia. I think the unseeded field will have a shot to pull off a title run this week.
Frantzen-Haase
Paul-Vocel
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