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[[Leave it to our very own Master Ace to file a clay-court season preview. . . for men's doubles. That boy certainly is hardcore, eh? It's an especially good idea, though, because doubles really gets short shrift here (and most everywhere else in print or on web). So after consuming this, you can safely say: As a matter of fact, I did hug my doubles player today. . .
Personally speaking, Every time I go to a tournament, I make a mental note to see if I can come up with a doubles post. And while I did write about Dick Norman and Wesley Moodie in Paris last year, that was more the exception than the rule. Doubles always gets lost in the smoke and din of the singles battlefield. So I'm reaffirming my commitment to writing at least one doubles post from Paris. Meanwhile, here's how MA sees the race to become the 2010 Roland Garros champion -- PB]]
by Master Ace
We're heading into into the red-clay doubles season without a dominant team, which is likely to make for some exciting, surprising results. If you had to handicap a favored squad for the French Open, though, the nod would go to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic (17-5 in 2010 with titles at Sydney and Rotterdam).
For the last two years, Nestor/Zimonjic have played their best tennis of the season in the spring. Last year, for example, Nestor/Zimonjic won Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, and Madrid, but the big-prize eluded them - they were stopped in the Roland Garros semifinals by Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes(14-5 this year, with a title at Miami). In 2008, the Nestor and Zimonjic lost the the final to Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna. I think it's fair to say Dan and Nenad are going to be highly motivated to close the deal this time on their annual spring fling with a title in Paris.
But two teams are more than capable of halting the Nestor/Zimonjic juggernaut. Bob and Mike Bryan (13-4, with three titles: Australian Open, Delray Beach, and Houston) and Dlouhy/Paes. The Bryans won their first career Slam at the French Open in 2003, and they're hot on the heels of the Woodies, Aussies Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, who hold the record for most doubles titles in the Open era (The Bryans bagged no. 69 in Houston last week, leaving them just two titles from equaling the Woodies).
The Bryans have been the most consistent doubles team in the past few years, but Dlouhy/Paes are on a bit of a Grand Slam roll, defending at the French and US Opens. After losing tough match (after holding multiple match points) in a challenger final at Sunrise recently, they rebounded strongly to win Miami defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi (5-5).
Other teams likely to contend for the French Open are Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach(14-4 with two titles, Santiago and Acapulco), Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley(15-5 with a title at Dubai), John Isner and Sam Querrey(don’t laugh - they're 10-4, with a title in Memphis). Rafael Nadal and whoever he chooses as a partner will be a threat in the Masters events; Nadal and Tommy Robredo won Monte Carlo in 2008, while Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski(7-7) are veterans who can cause trouble - six of their ten career titles were earned on clay.
Finally, if I heard correctly, Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman are reuniting during the clay season (they played with different partners at the start of 2010). They made an unexpected run to the finals at the French Open last year, which included an upset of the Bryans in the semifinals. In that match, they were bageled in the first set, won the second in a tiebreaker (they never had a break point against a Bryan serve), and won the final set with one break. So you have to include them in the mix, especially with the little bit of extra time these aging warriors will have to see and meet the ball on the slow red clay.
We now return you to your regular programming. . .