Doubles Take: Krawczyk, Schuurs triumph in Stuttgart, besties Bouzkova, SST win Istanbul

The latest champs are crowned during the spring clay-court stretch for the ATP and WTA Tours. Doubles Take is here with a look at the latest results.

The Drive to Win

Over the course of the past several years, one of the most prolific title winners on the WTA Tour has been Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands. 2022 started rather inauspiciously for the 28-year-old, however, as she was on the shelf due to injury for a prolonged spell, then had to adjust to playing with a new partner, American Desirae Krawczyk, who had also established herself among the game's best in recent years.

Seeded second at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, the duo dominated its first two matches, then battled through a match tiebreak in the semis to reach their first final together. In the championship match, they faced Coco Gauff and Shuai Zhang, the top seeds. Relying on their increasing familiarity with each other's games, Krawczyk and Schuurs came away with a straight-sets win to pick up their first title together. It's the 15th career title for Schuurs, while Krawczyk claimed her seventh.

Back in the Winner's Circle

Win Roland Garros as an unseeded team—like Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies did in 2019—and it might be considered a fluke. Come back and defend the title a year later, as the Germans did, and you're officially elite.

A three-peat wasn't in the cards in 2021, though, as Mies missed most of the year due to a knee injury, surgery and subsequent recovery. Krawietz kept on, playing with Horia Tecau and qualifying for the ATP Finals. Still, even with Tecau retiring before this year, Krawietz and Mies were bound for a reunion in 2022, which got off to a slow start. That all changed at the 500-level event in Barcelona, where the unseeded pair impressed from the first round on all the way to the final. There, they knocked off Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof in one of the closest matches on the men's tour this year to win their fifth title overall together and first since their French Open win in 2020. It's also their first title at the 500 level.

Dressed for Success

As much attention as Ariel Behar generated last year for his attire, his game was just as noteworthy: The Uruguayan and Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador won two out of five finals in 2021. The pair started off this year with a 9-4 record over their first four tournaments, including a runner-up showing in Adelaide, but had tailed off since.

Entering the Serbian Open with losses in two of their three matches leading up to the event, the pair caught fire, winning their first three matches in straight sets. In the final, they faced the recently deposed top-ranked team of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, seeded first in Belgrade and bidding for their first title since last summer. Behar and Escobar blasted through the first set, then saw the Croats take the second to level the match. In the deciding championship tiebreak, Behar and Escobar claimed it 10-7 to win their first title of 2022 and third overall together.

Awesome in Istanbul

At the Istanbul Cup, defending champions and top seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens were forced to withdraw before play even started. Second seeds Caty McNally and Alison Van Uytvanck pulled out, too, before the first ball was hit. With those teams gone, next in line for a deep run were the third seeds, Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo—and they lived up to their status as the new favorites.

The Czech-Spanish duo didn't drop a set en route to the final and kept the good times rolling in the championship match, topping Natela Dzalamidze and Kamilla Rakhimova in straights. It was the third doubles title for each of them and first together.

This Week

The men are playing at two of the spring clay-court staples this week. At the long-running event in Munich, Germany, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are the top seeds and will be looking to build upon their recent run of solid form. John Peers and Filip Polasek are the second seeds, followed by home favorites Krawietz and Mies. In Estoril, Portugal, Jamie Murray and Michael Venus sit atop a dangerous draw: So dangerous, in fact, that second seeds Max Purcell and Matt Ebden were bounced in the opening round. Behar and Escobar, last week's winners in Serbia, lurk among the unseeded challengers.