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Doubles Take: Olmos/Dabrowski, Koolhof/Skupski look to carry Madrid momentum into Rome

A second consecutive combined 1000 event holds court this week, as pairs continue preparing for the second major of the year.

ByVan Sias

Published May 11, 2022

REIGNING IN SPAIN

For the second year in a row on the ATP Tour, a new team has clicked right away and gone on a tear for months. In 2021, it was Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, who would go on to win nine tournaments and finish their campaign on top of the rankings.

This year, it’s looking like the new team to beat is Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. The Dutch-English duo won three of its first five tournaments together, then reached the final in Miami and Barcelona. Entering the Masters 1000 event in Madrid fresh off their most recent championship-round showing, Koolhof and Skupski went one better this week. Proving they’ll be considered among the contenders at Roland Garros, the pair topped former world No. 1 duo Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in a 10-5 match tiebreak to claim the title, the first for either of them at the Masters level.

Madrid 1000 Campeones 🏆

📸: Corinne Dubreuil pic.twitter.com/Fx1XHHxiN1
— Neal Skupski (@nealskupski) May 8, 2022

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MASTERING MADRID

Over the past few years, Giuliana Olmos and Gabriela Dabrowski have been among the more consistent players on the WTA Tour, with Olmos coming off a career year that saw her play in her first season-ending championship. The two decided to pair up in 2022, but got off to 1-5 start as they tried to adjust to the new partnership. A semifinal showing in Indian Wells offered a glimpse of what they were capable of, and most recently, their run in Madrid established them as one of the teams to beat in the months ahead.

The Mexican-Canadian duo, seeded second, were in battle mode all week in the Spanish capital. They won two of their first three matches in deciding tiebreaks, then were pushed to the limit in the final against another new pair, Stuttgart champs Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs. With only a few points separating the two teams, Olmos and Dabrowski won a 10-7 tiebreak to take the title, their first together. It’s the 11th of Dabrowski’s career, fourth at this level and first in Madrid after two runner-up finishes—including last year with Schuurs. For Olmos, it’s her fourth career title and second at the 1000 level after winning Rome in 2021.

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A post shared by Giuliana Olmos, OLY (@guguolmos)

THIS WEEK

It’s the last 1000-level event on clay for the year for both the men and the women, and it’s a big one: the Rome Masters, one of the sport’s most prestigious events outside of the Grand Slams. Mektic and Pavic, the defending men’s champs and third seeds, have kept their winning ways at the tournament going with an opening-round win. Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, seeded eighth, are also through to the round of 16 as they try to claim their third title in four events. Also among the teams that have advanced is perhaps the most eye-catching one in the draw: big John Isner—who’s been making Masters doubles events his personal playground this year—and “El Peque,” aka Diego Schwartzman. The David-and-Goliath tandem pulled off an impressive first-round win over Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni. Monte Carlo champs Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury are the top seeds, followed by Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers.

On the WTA side, top seeds Storm Sanders and Shuai Zhang could find having a first-round bye isn’t always a good thing as they’ll be tested right off the bat against former French Open finalists Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya. Madrid finalists Dabrowski/Olmos and Krawczyk/Schuurs—seeded second and third, respectively—are getting ready to open their campaigns after first-round byes and face some tough teams, too, but come in to Rome with momentum on their sides. Fifth seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are already out, as they lost to Veronika Kudermetova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in an 11-9 match tiebreak.

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