Where is Shibahara with whom Kudermetova is supposed to play with?

Babos and Melichar Martinez out in the first round already. I have a feeling we won’t see this team in the American swing.

 

Playing a 125k in Mexico!

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one unseeded team made the final. A lot of potentially dangerous floaters in the draw…and some rather unconvincing seeded teams too.

 

What's the tea with the Mertens / Perez combo?

Have they partnered up before?
Who's Perez?

Newbie questions

 

they both split with their previous partners Hsieh and Melichar due to lack of results, so ended up together now. Perez is an exclusive doubles player who just won Abu Dhabi last week with Ostapenko

 

R16

1 Dabrowski/Routliffe v Andreeva/Shnaider
Aoyama/Hozumi v Danilina/Khromacheva 7

3 Errani/Paolini v Eikeri/Niculescu
Panova/Stollar v Muhammad/Schuurs 8

6 Mertens/Perez v Xu/Yang
Haddad Maia/Siegemund v Kenin/L Kichenok 4

5 Chan/Kudermetova v Stearns/Stefani
Jiang/Wu v Hsieh/Ostapenko 2

Didn't watch the matches:

Chan/Kudermetova took out Kostyuk/Ruse quite easily, unexpected.
Mattek-Sands/Safarova is likely has been now if they can't even beat Xu/Yang.

 

Watched Andreeva and Shnaider narrowly beat Pegula and Krueger in a close match tiebreak today. 4 good singles players, but I do think this doubles team is especially good for Mirra, whose volleys are definitely improving. Ashlyn has been on a good run of form in the Middle East and was hitting well but in this match was just a few points made the difference. Good match.

I switched over to Mladenovic/Zheng a few times but seemed to be making a lot of errors and went down @ amd 4 to Stollar and Panova... oh dear. Fast turnaround from Abu Dhabi didn’t go well for them. Although Ellen Perez had more success as she and Elise Mertens battled through 2 tight sets to beat Xinyu and Saisai.

 

I switched over to Mladenovic/Zheng a few times but seemed to be making a lot of errors and went down @ amd 4 to Stollar and Panova... oh dear. Fast turnaround from Abu Dhabi didn’t go well for them.

I watched that whole match, as I'm a big fan of both Panova and Stollar (and was a fan of Mladenovic when she was playing with Garcia). Never really in doubt as soon as they got the break in the opening set. Mladenovic and Zheng were very up and down, whereas Panova and Stollar hardly put a foot wrong in the entire match. They're both back to their respective CHRs (28 and 58) in the live rankings.

 

Funny how Chan is posting picture post win with Veronica. Both seem to smile genuinely.

It looked so bad in that last match in the Finals. They were literally steamed and I believe not a word was exchanged between them after, until probably just days before signing up for this week, or they could well have teamed up in Abu Dhabi.

And I agree it was an unexpected victory against the AO quarterfinalists. As unlikely as them being good off-court friends, they sure have that unusual chemistry for a doubles team on the court.

 

I haven't seen Veronika being as friendly with her doubles partner since Vesnina.

 

I thought she was on pretty good terms with Mertens?

 

They played well, but they never seemed to enjoy each other.

 

Holy smokes, Dabrowski/Routliffe got absolutely annihilated by the young and enthusiastic Russian team. Just an utter beatdown.

 

Perhaps Diana and Mirra are making amends for their mutual disappointing efforts in the singles draw.

 

And Chan/Kudermetova withdrew right after their straight-set second round win 🤣 Wonder if any drama happened again.

 

Holy smokes, Dabrowski/Routliffe got absolutely annihilated by the young and enthusiastic Russian team. Just an utter beatdown.

That was expected.

By whom? Certainly not by the bookies. I know that you dislike Dabrowski, but nobody could seriously have expected her to play as badly as she did.

 

2 top single players > 2 doubles player only.

 

Who will prevail between Mirra/Diana and Paolini/Errani? Their H2H is 1-1.

 

Just watched the replay of Bia and Laura taking out Perez and Mertens in a match tie break. Such a close match that could have gone either way. Congrats to them and a great chance to make the final.

 

SF

Andreeva/Shnaider v Errani/Paolini 3
Haddad Maia/Siegemund v Jiang/Wu

 

Jiang/Wu d. Haddad Maia/Siegemund 62 63

 

What a choke from Diana.

 

Italians experience won over Russian youth today, but make no mistake the "Brats" are the next great doubles team going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if the Russians win a slam this season.

 

Yes, they are fast improving and quite honestly, playing Sara Errani so much should be a learning experience too. I can totally see these two doing a Sabalenka and being successful in doubles then quit to focus on singles. Shnaider had better touch but as with her singles, gets tight at key moments sometimes. Andreeva is still a novice at net.

I am a bit worried about Paolini despite this win. She was the 4th best player on court for much of the match, however giver her credit, she stood up in the tie breaks.

Three matches between these 2 teams in the last year.. it’s a good match up!

 

Jiang new Chinese nº 2

Jiang/Wu nº 4 in the Race.

 

How can Haddad Maia and Siegemund lose to Chinese pair?

To Coolfan, who is an outstanding contributor, I beg to differ about Mattek Sands and Safarova being has beens. We will see. But give Safarova time after such a long layoff before coming back from retirement. And Xu and Yang are not bad. Their highest rankings are No. 7 and 9, respectively. May not be as good as a few years but no pushover.

According to available information, the doubles team of Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan have notably achieved success together, including qualifying for the WTA Finals in 2022, winning titles at the Indian Wells WTA 1000 and the San Jose WTA 500 tournaments, and reaching several semifinals at the WTA 500 level throughout the 2021 season; both players saw a significant rise in their doubles ranking while playing as a pair.

 

I'm sure a lot of the established teams will happy when Mirra/Diana are seeded for these tourneys. They're too dangerous to meet too early.

 

TBH seeding in doubles doesn't mean much.

 

F

3 Errani/Paolini v Jiang/Wu

 

The Russians can pull off some special shots that most of the other doubles players just don't have in their arsenal, but they are still prone to making basic mistakes in important moments.

 

The Russian toddlers have a lot to answer for. 😑

 

I understand that it's a bit frustrating if you get a water bottles and the men get a phone but complaining about players' gifts, really?

She also seems to think the women may bring in more $$$ because they play a 1000 and the guys (Alcaraz, Djokovic, etc.) play a 500. Ellen seems nice enough but the WTA's prize money subsidies over the last decade (which led them to financial catastrophe) have really made the girls think they're on par with the guys when the market tells a different story.

 

I understand that it's a bit frustrating if you get a water bottles and the men get a phone but complaining about players' gifts, really?

She also seems to think the women may bring in more $$$ because they play a 1000 and the guys (Alcaraz, Djokovic, etc.) play a 500. Ellen seems nice enough but the WTA's prize money subsidies over the last decade (which led them to financial catastrophe) have really made the girls think they're on par with the guys when the market tells a different story.

It’s always about equal pay and women’s rights when they don’t generate the same revenue as the men.

With the drug scandal of Sinner and Swiatek I think both tours are going down. Many of my friends will not be watching tennis from now on.