Doubles Take: Adelaide, Cordoba and Singapore recap

Doubles Take looks back at the action on the ATP and WTA tours, and previews the week ahead.

MOVING ON UP

It’s been quite the past six months for Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk. During the late-2020 clay-court stretch, they won their second title together in Istanbul, then recorded their best-ever result by reaching the final at the French Open. This year got off to a slow start for the Chilean-American duo with two first-round losses, but they quickly rebounded to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Carrying the momentum from that positive showing with them to Adelaide, Krawczyk and Guarachi impressed throughout the week and came away with the top prize in the end.

Facing another equally impressive up-and-coming team in Luisa Stefani and Hayley Carter, the third seeds came through in a match tiebreak to win their third career title together.

SENSATIONAL IN SINGAPORE

The Australian summer was a tough one for Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, with the Belgians going 1-2 over two tournaments, including an opening-round loss at the year’s first major.

At the ATP Tour stop in Singapore, they were able to put those bad memories behind them. The top-seeded duo dominated from start to finish to claim their fifth career title together.

In beating Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith in the championship match, Vliegen and Gille ran their record in ATP Tour-level finals to 5-1. Before becoming tour mainstays, they contested dozens of finals together on the Futures and Challenger circuits, proving they’re definitely a team to watch as they continue to climb the rankings.

FIRST TIME’S THE CHARM

Over the past decade, Brazil has produced multiple standout doubles players on the ATP Tour, including former number-ones Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.

Will Rafael Matos and Felipe Meligeni Rodriguez Alves be part of the next wave?

Playing together for the first time at the Cordoba Open in Argentina, the young countrymen completed a dream run to the title: The tournament alternates topped Benoit Paire and Romain Arneodo in straight sets in the final. According to the ATP, this was only the second tour-level main draw appearance for Meligeni Rodrigues Alves and the third for Matos. On their way to the title, the Brazilians also stopped the top seeds Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor in the semifinals.

A WINNING COMBINATION

Since 2019, Grand Slam champions Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Henri Kontinen have teamed up on three occasions. Aside from a first-round loss at the Australian Open this year, the two have managed to do quite alright together: They won the title in Stocholm back in ’19 and now have a second victory to their credit after a victorious run in Montpellier, France.

The top-seeded veterans defeated Jonathan Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski in the final to run their overall record over the past three years to 8-1. For the Frenchman Vasselin, it’s his third career title at the tournament and 22nd overall, while Kontinen—a former world No. 1—won his 24th title out of 30 finals.

THIS WEEK

The WTA Tour has two steps on the calendar. At the WTA 500 event in Qatar, the draw is deep, with this year’s Australian Open finalists Barbora Krejicova and Katerina Siniakova leading the way, followed by Melbourne semifinalists Nicole Melichar and Demi Schuurs. In Lyon, France, the top seeds are Viktoria Kuzmova and Arantxa Rus, and Makoto Ninomiya and Renata Voracova in the two-spot.

The men are also playing two this week, and like the women, have a strong field at their 500 event in Rotterdam. Case in point: Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, the top seeds, open up against Montpellier champs Henri Kontinen and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The “Golden Swing” of clay-court events is also playing on, with the Argentina Open, where Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor are the top seeds, followed by Marcelo Demoliner and Santiago Gonzalez.