There is a new rivalry brewing in tennis and it may be more entertaining than the most talked about matchups. When thinking of tennis rivalries the names that come to mind are Federer and Nadal or, more recently, Djokovic and Murray. However, in the doubles world things are becoming very exciting, and there could soon be rivalries to rival those in the singles world.
Doubles teams can be genetically made to order as with the Bryan twins. One player is a natural righty; the other a natural lefty. Having played together all their lives, communication on the court occurs instinctively. The Bryan brothers are considered the best doubles team ever, and their accomplishments. They own sixteen Grand Slam Men’s doubles titles, having won each of the slams at least twice. At the start of 2015 they had won 103 ATP titles, and their win in Miami brings the total to 104. Early in their tennis careers the twins decided they did not want to face each other on opposing sides of the court, so instead they joined forces and have proven to be a formidable opponent. It should be noted that both brothers own Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles as well.
In contrast, some doubles teams come together as the result of circumstance, as in the case of Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock, otherwise known as Popisock. Both players lost early at Wimbledon last June and since they were already at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club they decided to join forces and entered the doubles draw.
What happened next is the kind of story that fairy tales are made of. Having never played a match together, the team just kept on winning. They capped off their fairy tale run to the finals by defeating the number one seeded team, the Bryan brothers. But Popisock have shown us they are not just a one hit wonder. The team followed up the Wimbledon win by competing in Atlanta in July and taking the title there. At the end of 2014 the team just missed out on qualifying for the ATP tour finals.
As of now, the Bryan brothers and Popisock have played four matches and are tied at two matches apiece. In Indian Wells in March it was Popisock who defeated the Bryan brothers in the semi-finals and then went on to win the Masters 1000 tournament, defeating the US Open champions, Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, in the final. Two weeks later the teams met in the finals of Miami, another Masters 1000 tournament, with the Bryan Brothers winning the title in the third set super tiebreak 6-3,1-6,1-0(10-8).
Looking at the two components of this team is an interesting comparison to the Bryan brothers team. Before they came together, both players were primarily focused on their singles career, while successfully playing some doubles events.
Jack Sock, an American from Nebraska, reached a career high on the ATP Emirates Tour of 42 in November 2014 . A highly touted junior, his singles results have been on the disappointing side, but it should be noted that he did win a Grand Slam mixed doubles in New York with fellow American Melanie Oudin in 2011.
Vasek Pospisil, a Canadian, reached a career high of 25 in January 2014. His most notable singles results include a semi-final of a Masters 1000 in Montreal in 2013, losing out to fellow Canadian Milos Raonic. That same year, he reached the final in Washington, losing out to Raonic again. Most of his previous doubles experience has come in Davis Cup where he has had success playing alongside doubles specialist Daniel Nestor.
How do two singles players suddenly become a world class doubles team? According to Pospisil and Sock a lot of their success is the result of having fun on the court and off the court. Although the team wants to do well, a relaxed attitude on the court has made winning come easy. Moreover, a strong developing friendship bond on what can be a lonely life on tour has made the whole process that much more enjoyable.
Where does the team go next? Do they continue as they are doing, concentrating on their singles careers and playing doubles “on the side” or do they transition into being doubles specialists? Singles careers are very taxing on the athletes’ bodies. The prime reason that Pospisil’s singles ranking has stalled is that he has struggled with back problems and has had to withdraw from tournaments and take time to recover. Sock has also had some injury issues and has already missed part of the current season after having hip surgery.
That being said, success in doubles can help build confidence in a player’s singles game and currently that seems to be the case with Sock who played up to his potential in Houston last week, winning his first ATP title.
Doubles specialists like Canadian Daniel Nestor, Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, and Rohan Bopanna of India have shown that it is possible to be financially successful whilst playing full-time doubles on tour. As many of these players have shown, the longevity in the pro game is much better for a doubles specialist with Nestor being 42 years old, Zimonjic being 38 and Bopanna the youngster at 35.
A good doubles rivalry can only help popularize the game, and maybe soon doubles tournaments will regularly be on television.
