Doubles Preview: All eyes on Andy Murray, top teams in Wimbledon
The Scot's comeback continues alongside Pierre-Hugues Herbert while top seeds face tests.
All grass-lined roads the past few weeks for both tours have led here to Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the season. With no teams on the ATP or WTA tours having established themselves as a clear-cut favorite, both draws look more wide open than ever.
Here’s a look at the men’s and women’s events.
Eleven players in the draw this year have experienced the joy of being crowned men’s doubles champion at Wimbledon at some point in their careers.
One of those past victors, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, won’t be teaming up with Nicolas Mahut, with whom he’s secured the career Grand Slam. Instead, Herbert will be partnering none other than former world No. 1 singles star Andy Murray to form one of the most eagerly anticipated partnerships of the tournament. Earlier in the year, Murray thought that Wimbledon would be his swan song as he dealt with lingering issues regarding his hip. A second procedure helped him get back on course, and in his first tournament back in months, he won the Queen’s Club event with Feliciano Lopez.
Murray and Herbert will be unseeded here, but could potentially face the elder Murray, Jamie, who’s seeded 10th with Neal Skupski, in the third round.
The top half of the draw, where they’re all located, also features another Grand Slam champion--arguably one of the greatest ever--making a return to the tournament: one who provided some inspiration for Andy Murray in his own quest.
Bob Bryan is back with brother Mike after missing the tournament last year due to a hip problem of his own. After a successful procedure, later adopted by Murray, Bob has had a successful reunion with Mike in 2019, winning two titles on the season. Mike, actually, is a defending champion as he and Jack Sock instantly gelled last year, winning the title in only their second tournament together.
Headlining the top half of the draw are the 2017 champions and number-one seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who face one of the toughest openers in the tournament. The Polish-Brazilian duo takes on 2018 Australian Open semifinalists Jan-Lennard Struff and Ben McLachlan in the first round.
On the bottom half, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah lead the way. The second seeds are coming in fresh off their first grass-court title in Eastbourne and could face a tough test in the third round against the 14th seeds, Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer. Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus, last year’s runner-ups, find themselves in a situation similar to Kubot and Melo as the number-three seeds will also see a dangerous floater early on in the form of Brits Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara--who will surely have the home crowd on their side.
Last year, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova took their second Grand Slam title in a row when they defeated Kveta Peschke and Nicole Melichar in the final. They’re seeded second this year, but based on current form, they’re not entering the tournament as one of the favorites this year as they have yet to win a title in 2019.
The bottom half of the draw features several teams that could derail Krejcikova and Siniakova in their quest for a repeat performance. In the quarterfinals, they’re slated to face Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Demi Schuurs.
Last year, Schuurs led the tour in titles won, but has yet to enter the winner’s circle so far in 2019. She and Groenefeld have reached a couple of finals lately, though, and could potentially break through at Wimbledon. Samantha Stosur and Shuai Zhang, the number-five seeds who won the Australian Open this year, are also a threat to make a title-winning run.
Perhaps the most dangerous team, though, in the tournament is the top-seeded duo of Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. Former Wimbledon finalists from their prior run together, the pair’s successful reunion started last year, when they won the Australian Open. They closed the 2018 season with a victorious run at the WTA Finals, and this year, they’ve added another major title at the French Open--proving they’re at their best in the biggest occasions.
Teams like Hao-Ching and Latisha Chan, who just won the grass-court title in Eastbourne, and Birmingham winners Barbora Strycova and Su-Wei Hsieh have had more recent success on the turf, and could mount their own challenges from the draw’s top half.
