Temat deblowy

[DUN I LOVE]

Z tego co widzę to tytuły USO i Kanady, finały WTF i Rzymu, półfinały IW, AO i Wimby.

[Barty]

No to świetne wyniki, jakby nie patrzeć. Nie kojarzyłem ani jednego, podobnie jak ledwo jego z twarzy.

[Kiefer]

Ja też nie, Bartoszu.

[Damian]

Thank You, Bruno! Locker-Room Favourite Soares Retires

Spoiler:

Brazilian reflects on his career
It was an emotional scene Friday on Court 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. After Bruno Soares missed a forehand volley into the net, he shared a lengthy embrace with partner Jamie Murray. It was not only the end of their US Open, but the last match of Soares’ career.

The 40-year-old Brazilian was part of the year-end No. 1 pair in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings twice, claimed 35 tour-level men’s doubles titles, lifted six Grand Slam trophies — three in men’s doubles and three in mixed doubles — and won 545 tour-level matches in his illustrious career.

Soares, who knew 2022 would be his final season within the first few months of the year, is thrilled with all he accomplished on the court. But the locker-room favourite is even more touched by the outpouring of support he has received from his colleagues and fans.

“It’s kind of overwhelming to see how much I’ve been through, but also for me I think the nicest part is just friends, family, fans, everyone, the messages that I got. I think this is for me the most special part,” Soares told ATPTour.com. “[There have been] so many good things to read and I’ve always said the titles, the career, they are really amazing. In the end of the day, it’s the person that counts, so I feel extremely blessed and honoured to be able to get all this love and amazing support and messages in this special moment of my life.”

One of those messages came from fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo. The former doubles World No. 1 posted on social media a series of images with Soares. They both are from Belo Horizonte and have grown up to take on the world of professional tennis together.

“It was very special to have a guy like Bruno from the same city, travelling as a friend as well. It was very nice and comfortable, many times taking airplanes together. Achieving many big titles… growing up from Belo to conquer the world, it was very nice,” Melo said. “Bruno is also a very nice guy, everybody likes him a lot. He [is always in] a very good mood, always positive. It was very fun to share the court with him during this period of time.

“I wish good luck for him in the next chapter of his life. For sure he’s going to be as good as he was in tennis.”


Soares’ tennis journey began in Iraq. His father Malthus was a civil engineer working on a highway, and their family lived in a camp. While Malthus worked, Soares’ mother, Maisa, looked after the family. Bruno began playing the sport around the age of five. After six years in Iraq, the Soares family returned to Brazil and relocated from city to city throughout Bruno’s childhood.

“I think [of] the amount of work my parents put into our lives and into raising three kids. Of course my dad was working, but my mom was taking all the heat with three kids living in Iraq, pretty much alone. I think this just made my family quite strong in everything and it’s been quite a journey,” Soares said. “My whole life I was moving from place to place and back in the day, once you move from one city to another, you pretty much lost all your friends. There was no social media, no WhatsApp, you could never keep in touch.”

Soares took to tennis quickly, and began competing locally. One of the players he got to know before he was a teenager was Melo. From their junior days to an emotional moment they shared after Soares’ match Friday, it has been a wild ride for the Brazilians.

“That picture says it all. After the match on Friday he came to give me a hug and immediately we collapsed in tears. We’ve been through so much,” Soares said. “Everyone knows how difficult it is to be a professional tennis player. It’s funny because we’ve been doing it together since we were seven, eight years old, the same thing, the same tournaments, the same process.

“We’re still playing tournaments and living our dreams, so it’s quite incredible. That picture, it has a very special meaning because of that. It’s literally the beginning of the journey and now it’s the end of the journey and to [see] that is quite beautiful.”

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

Soares won his first ATP Tour doubles title in 2008 at Nottingham alongside Kevin Ullyett. His breakthrough partnership came from 2012 to 2015, when he won 12 titles with Alexander Peya, including two ATP Masters 1000 crowns.

But Soares’ most successful partnership was with Jamie Murray. In five and a half seasons together over two stints, they lifted 12 tour-level trophies, including victories at the Australian Open and US Open in 2016, the year they finished as the year-end No. 1 duo.

“We had a lot of fun on our journey, I think that’s what made it most special for us. We are really good friends and really enjoyed competing together and winning together,” Murray said. “There is so much time hanging around and stuff waiting for the matches. There’s a lot of dead time on the Tour and it’s obviously a lot more fun when you’re able to spend that time with someone [where] you really enjoy their company and can have fun with [them].

“I think for me that’s what will be the saddest part of Bruno stopping — losing that and having to try to find that with someone else, which won’t be easy I don’t think. He’s an amazing guy, [has a] brilliant family and wish him all the success in this next part of his life.”



Soares also finished as part of the year-end No. 1 team in 2020 with Croatian Mate Pavic. As proud as he is of all those on-court accomplishments, the relationships Soares has built mean even more.

“For me this is way more valuable, because it’s such a tough environment, such a competitive lifestyle and I think for you to be able to play so many years against so many people and you have to deal with so many things and so much pressure, I think when you go to bed at night, that’s what matters,” Soares said. “It’s the person you became, it’s what you are as a human being. For me this counts way more. My tennis career was over on Friday, but my life goes on. That’s what I want to take with me until the day I die.”

Soares has already dipped his toes into the business world over the past few years, and he will continue building on that moving forward. But for fans of the Brazilian, you can expect to see him around the tennis world, too.

“Tennis is my life. The sport is in my blood. It’s in my DNA. I want to be around, I have so many close friends on Tour. I’ll definitely be in touch and I’m a tennis fan. At the end of the day I’m a huge tennis lover,” Soares said. “I’ve been trying to give back my whole career, but now is the real time when I’m going to have a little bit more time to give back.

“I’m never going to say good bye to tennis.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/bruno-s ... ibute-2022

[Damian]

Koolhof/Skupski Claim Year-End No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Ranking

Spoiler:

Dutch-British duo earn achievement in first year together
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski clinched year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Rankings on Sunday when they lifted the Rolex Paris Masters trophy. It is first time either player has been part of the year-end No. 1 duo.

The Dutchman and Briton made a quick start to their partnership at the beginning of the season and have not looked back. The pair has won seven titles this year, including triumphs at three ATP Masters 1000 events.

“[It means] a lot, obviously. It was one of the goals we set for this year. I think we’ve reached all the goals we set in January, so it means the world to us,” Koolhof said. “I think we’ve been playing great tennis from the start in Australia and managed to keep it going until here. We have one more week to go, so let’s continue this run in Turin.”

Koolhof and Skupski began 2022 by lifting trophies at ATP 250 events in Melbourne and Adelaide. That set the tone for the year, in which they have tallied a 54-17 record.

Their biggest victories of the season came at the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid, Montreal and Paris. They have also triumphed in Doha and ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Other notable results include runs to the championship match in Miami, Barcelona and at the US Open.

“It’s been great with Wes from day one really in Australia. We just keep growing. We have a few setbacks here and there, but we bounce straight back,” Skupski said. “We both work hard. We get along very well off the court. I think that’s one of the keys to gel on the court. We keep putting the work in, things seem to be paying off. Hopefully we can keep going in Turin.”

Individually, Koolhof will also become No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time on Monday.

The year-end No. 1 duo will try to punctuate its standout season on a high as at the Nitto ATP Finals. Koolhof will appear at the season finale for the second time and Skupski will make his debut. Koolhof lifted the trophy at the year-end championships in 2020 with Nikola Mektic.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/koolhof ... ubles-team

[Damian]

[Damian]

Koolhof Rises To Individual Doubles World No. 1

Spoiler:

Dutchman reaches milestone after winning Paris title with Skupski
At the start of the Rolex Paris Masters, Wesley Koolhof knew a semi-final run would be enough to earn him a debut atop the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. But the 33-year-old didn't stop there, finishing the week with his seventh title of the 2022 season, all won alongside Neal Skupski.

"It means everything, obviously. I think the first goal you have when you start playing tennis is you want to become World No. 1," Koolhof said after clinching the milestone achievement on Saturday. "I didn't know until I opened the [Pepperstone ATP] Live Rankings on Monday, because I saw the Nitto ATP Finals points drop off for Ram and Salisbury. needed to make the semi-finals here [Paris] to be No. 1. It feels great to reach the goal."


Koolhof is the fourth Dutchman to rank No. 1 individually in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, since 1976. He joins Tom Okker (1979), Paul Haarhuis (1994) and Jacco Eltingh (1995) in claiming the honour.

Set to be the top seeds at the Nitto ATP Finals, which begins 13 November, Koolhof and Skupski lead all doubles teams on the ATP Tour this season in wins (54), finals (10) and titles (seven).

"It's been great," Koolhof said of the first-year partnership. "We first started playing together in Australia. We actually had a talk here in Bercy last year. I approached Neal [to ask] if he was available to play with next year. I think we just combined well from the first practice on. We've done very good, won a lot of matches, a lot of titles. I think it's very special to share this with Neal."

You May Also Like: Koolhof/Skupski Claim Year-End No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Doubles Team Ranking
The new World No. 1 also paid tribute to other important figures in his tennis career, including coaches, former partner Matwe Middelkoop and girlfriend Julia Goerges, a former WTA star.

"[I'd like to thank] everyone who has been involved in my career. I had so many coaches with the Dutch federation. Switched from singles to doubles in 2016. Then I started with Matwe Middelkoop, so it's also special to be able to beat him [in the Paris semi-finals] to become No. 1.

"Also Marco Kroes, who has been my coach for the past six or seven years. December of last year I switched to a different team, Rob Morgan, Mariusz Fyrstenberg. I think they've done an amazing job together. I've improved a lot.

"I'm grateful for everyone — my mom, my girlfriend Julia Goerges. She helped me a lot the past two-and-a-half years. I got all the good things from her career."

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin In Real Time

By winning the Paris title — their third ATP Masters 1000 crown of the year (Madrid, Montreal) — Koolhof and Skupski clinched year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings. The pair can now turn its attention to the Nitto ATP Finals, which Koolhof won in 2020 alongside Nikola Mektic.

"We still have Turin," Koolhof said. "I managed to win that one two years ago. For Neal, it will be his first one. There's still a lot to play for."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/koolhof ... ember-2022

[Damian]

'Something I Will Remember Forever': Doubles Debutants Dream Big In Turin

Spoiler:

New faces look to make mark on Nitto ATP Finals debut
Of the 16 doubles players competing at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals, seven are making their first appearance at the season-ending event. Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara are two of those debutants, and the British-Finnish pair is relishing the opportunity to compete in Turin.

“It’s a highlight [of my career],” Glasspool told ATPTour.com at the pre-tournament media day on Saturday. “It’s something I will remember forever, hopefully my first of many. The first one, and even if this is it, I will definitely remember it. It’s a reward for a very good, consistent and hard-working two years.”

The British-Finnish duo is no stranger to the big stage, having reached quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open and lifting their maiden ATP 500 title in Hamburg this season. Heliovaara is confident that the pair is ready to shine in the spotlight once again when they take to court in the intense atmosphere of the Pala Alpitour.

“I don’t think it will add nerves,” said the Finn. “It’s obviously interesting. Our first time here, so everything is new, but also everything is super nice. Huge stadium, a lot of people. It’s exciting but I’m pretty sure it’s going to make us play better.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ivan ... view'>Ivan Dodig</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mate ... view'>Mate Pavic</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/niko ... ew'>Nikola Mektic</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/wesl ... ew'>Wesley Koolhof</a> Ivan Dodig, Mate Pavic, Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour.
Glasspool and Heliovaara’s opening match on Sunday at 11:30 a.m (CET) is also the first of the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. There will be another debutant on the other side of the net in Marcelo Arevalo, although the Salvadoran has the considerable experience of his partner, 2015 champion Jean-Julien Rojer, to fall back on.

“Playing with Jules, it means a lot to me, too, because I know his career,” said Arevalo, who won his maiden Grand Slam title alongside Rojer in June at Roland Garros. “He’s been on Tour so many years, more than me, so I try to squeeze a little of his experience every day. It makes me also more calm, and more secure to get into these events playing with someone next to me that has already been in this situation before. So I think that’s a nice feeling.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marc ... w'>Marcelo Arevalo</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jean ... ean-Julien Rojer</a> Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in Turin. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Austin Krajicek also has the benefit of an experienced partner beside him. The American partners Ivan Dodig, set to compete at the event for the eighth time, with the duo arriving in Turin off the back of a stunning late-season charge that saw them win 14 of 16 matches on European hard courts and lift trophies in Naples and Basel.

“Ivan has a tonne of experience playing at the year-end finals, so I think we will work together as a team,” said Krajicek. “Ivan [offers] great leadership, and I think we are just excited to compete like we have been doing the past six months, and especially in the past couple of tournaments, and hopefully we can have a great result.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/nitto-a ... -media-day

[Damian]

9) New Doubles Champs Guaranteed: While three men in the Nitto ATP Finals doubles field are former champions — Jean-Julien Rojer, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic — none of the eight teams have won the title as a pair. Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have come closest, reaching the final together last year before falling to Fenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

Koolhof and Mektic won the year-end title together in 2020, but return with different partners this season. Doubles World No. 1 Koolhof teams with Neal Skupski, with the top seeds seeking their eighth tour-level title of the season. Mektic teams with Mate Pavic, the Croatians looking to improve upon their semi-final run one year ago in Turin. Both of those teams are in the Green Group alongside fifth seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek, and eighth seeds Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.

The Red Group, led by US Open champions Ram/Salisbury, also includes Roland Garros champs Marcelo Arevalo and Rojer, sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara and seventh seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/turin-2 ... ing-report

[Damian]

[Damian]

Koolhof/Skupski Honoured As ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone In Turin

Spoiler:

Dutch-British pair has won seven tour-level titles in first season together
After a standout first year together on the ATP Tour, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski’s 2022 achievements were recognised on Thursday when they were crowned ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone in a special ceremony at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

The Dutch-British team was presented the year-end No. 1 doubles trophy by ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi on court at the Pala Alpitour, where Koolhof and Skupski are competing as the top seeds at the prestigious season finale.

“It’s incredible,” said Skupski. “We only came together in January. One of our goals was just to make the Nitto ATP Finals. We’ve come in and won seven titles this year and come in as the No. 1 seeds. So this is a dream come true, to end the year No. 1.”

ATP WTA LIVE | Follow Live Scores From Montreal

Koolhof and Skupski currently hold a 55-18 record for the season, which has been headlined by ATP Masters 1000 titles in Madrid, Montreal and Paris. The pair also lifted ATP 250 trophies in Melbourne, Adelaide, Doha and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

“That’s the main thing, the main difference between singles and doubles,” said Koolhof, when asked about what made the duo such a great team. “We win together, lose together, share moments on and off court together… In January the click was there from the beginning. We have the same interests off the court as well, we have the same idea of how to practise and how to play tennis in general.”

Koolhof and Skupski defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios on their Nitto ATP Finals team debut on Monday in Turin but were then defeated in two tight sets on Wednesday by Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic. They face a crucial match on Friday against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek as they bid to reach the semi-finals.

“We’ve won one, lost one, this week, we’ve got it all to do tomorrow in an all-or-nothing tie, so hopefully we can continue our good form and progress to the semi-finals,” said Skupski. “It’s been an amazing year and hopefully it continues.

“We’ve done very well this year, seven titles and three Masters titles," added Koolhof. "So hopefully we can still finish strong here tomorrow.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/koolhof ... 1-ceremony

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Perfect 10: British Team Cashes In On Challenger Tour

Spoiler:

Cash & Patten are former college standouts
From scrambling to gain entry into tournaments to finishing the season with a record-setting 10 titles, British doubles team Julian Cash and Henry Patten made a stunning impact on the ATP Challenger Tour this year.

“It’s been a bit of a blur but we’ve had a couple days at home and I think it’s set in a little bit,” Patten told ATPTour.com. “A pretty crazy accomplishment, surpassing all of our expectations for sure. It feels like not that long ago we were trying to hustle our way into some Challengers over the summer.”

In May, Cash and Patten were ranked outside the Top 300 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. After receiving a wild card into the Surbiton Challenger, their season started to change course. Despite never teaming at the Challenger level before, Cash and Patten collected their maiden Challenger title on the grass courts of Surbiton. They didn’t stop there.

The duo won titles on all three surfaces this season, including a surge on the North American hard courts, where they collected six titles: Granby, Columbus, Fairfield, Las Vegas, Charlottesville, and Drummondville.

ATP Challenger Tour

With time running out on the season, Cash and Patten were inching closer to surpassing the Challenger doubles titles record, which was set in 2012 by twin brothers from Thailand, Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana. At the Andria Challenger in November, the Britons claimed their record-breaking crown and then finished the season on a strong note at the Maia Challenger, where they captured their 10th title and extended their match-winning streak to 12.

“I believed that we could go a long way, but maybe not so quickly,” Cash said. “We both had success on the doubles court apart from each other, we were fortunate to pair when we did. I couldn’t have imagined the six months we’ve had. Six months ago, breaking records and playing the Australian Open was definitely not on the table.”

The British duo went from playing mostly ITF Futures events to breaking Challenger Tour-records in the span of six months. A few of their 10 titles hold a special place in their hearts, including their first crown, which came on home soil.

“Our first title in Surbiton sticks out because that was really out of blue,” Patten said. “We accepted a last-minute wild card and it was our first Challenger. To win that one, it kind of started this whole crazy journey. Granby was special too, our first tournament after grass, it gave us a lot of belief for the rest of the trip. And then in Maia, on clay, a surface that neither of us are that familiar or comfortable on. We just worked really hard throughout the week and it was a great way to finish the year. Those three stand out for me.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/juli ... ew'>Julian Cash</a> (left) and <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/henr ... iew'>Henry Patten</a> are crowned champions at the Maia Challenger.
Julian Cash (left) and Henry Patten are crowned champions at the Maia Challenger. Credit: FPT/Sara Falcao

Now inside the Top 70, the Britons cite their college careers as a big part of their development. Cash competed at Mississippi State University his freshman year before transferring to Oklahoma State University, where he earned All-American honours. Patten, who is a Colchester native, had a standout career at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, where he was the Big South Conference player of the year for three consecutive years.

“I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be here without college tennis,” Patten said. “Professional tennis wasn’t really on my radar until my last couple years at college. It’s the ideal training ground as you are competing and training almost every day.”

You May Also Like: Van Assche, 18, Converts Hot Streak To First Challenger Title
Cash, who hails from Brighton, believes their styles of play feed off each other well and attributes their off-court friendship as part of what’s led to their rapid rise.

“We get along well off-court, that helps massively,” Cash said. “It would’ve been tough to do with just anybody. I think our games complement each other well. Our strengths and weaknesses combine to be a well-rounded team. Also, the lefty-righty combo [Patten is left-handed] has a lot of benefit on the doubles court and we’re able to utilise that.”

Cash and Patten hope to have a little downtime this month to unwind from a whirlwind season. Both of them enjoy golf and padel, while Patten enjoys playing chess, Cash claims he would rather stick to his hobby of throwing darts as he ‘doesn’t have the intellect’ for chess, he claimed while cracking a laugh.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/challen ... ubles-2022

[Damian]

Fast-Rising Koolhof/Skupski Feature In Standout Doubles Teams Of 2022

Spoiler:

Ram/Salisbury, Kokkinakis/Kyrgios also feature
ATPTour.com’s annual season-in-review series looks back at 2022’s best matches, biggest upsets, most dramatic comebacks and more.

From huge serving and defiant defence to rapid reactions and razor-sharp volleying, the ATP Tour’s doubles action offers non-stop intensity and excitement to fans around the world.

Despite playing a format where each point, game, set and match can be decided by the finest of margins, some pairs have found a way to consistently rise above the rest in 2022. Today, ATPTour.com looks at some of those best-performing teams from an action-packed season on the doubles circuit.

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Koolhof/Skupski Shine In First Year Together
Seven tour-level titles, a 56-19 match record, and the year-end No. 1 doubles crown. As first seasons playing together go, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski could hardly have asked for more.

“We win together, lose together, share moments on and off court together… In January the click was there from the beginning,” said Koolhof after the pair were crowned ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Their achievements in a whirlwind first year as a team included three ATP Masters 1000 titles, won in Madrid, Montreal and Paris.


Even changes in surface or conditions did little to slow the Koolhof/Skupski winning machine. Their overall tally of seven tour-level titles included triumphs on outdoor hard courts, clay, grass and indoor hard. They also performed strongly at the majors, reaching the quarter-finals at three of the four Grand Slams, including a championship match run at the US Open.

Those stellar performances as a team propelled both Koolhof and Skupski to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. Dutchman Koolhof hit top spot on 7 November following the duo’s Rolex Paris Masters triumph, before Great Britain’s Skupski joined the Dutchman as joint World No. 1 a week later.

Ram/Salisbury Built For The Big Stage
Few teams more consistently brought their best to big occasions in 2022 than Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

The American-British pair lifted its second and third ATP Masters 1000 titles with high-class displays at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (Ram and Salisbury’s first tour-level title together on clay) and at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. They backed up those successes by becoming just the second team to successfully defend the men’s doubles title at the US Open, after legendary ATP Tour duo Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.

“Those [Masters 1000s and Grand Slams] are the ones we want to win, the big ones,” Salisbury told ATPTour.com prior to November’s Nitto ATP Finals. “Even if it’s only a couple a year, those are the ones we are going for. I think it’s good we perform our best at those bigger tournaments."


The pair successfully continued that trend with its fourth and final tour-level of the year in Turin, where it went undefeated to claim its maiden Nitto ATP Finals crown in style and finish a standout year on Tour with a 37-14 record.

Just like Koolhof and Skupski, both Ram and Salisbury rose to become No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings for the first time in 2022. Salisbury held the position from April until the beginning of October, when his partner Ram took over top spot until Koolhof’s ascent five weeks later.

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‘Special Ks’ Light Up Doubles Circuit
“We definitely don’t practise doubles at all,” said Nick Kyrgios prior to making his Nitto ATP Finals debut alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis in November. “We don’t do any doubles drills or anything like that. Maybe it can be an advantage, maybe a disadvantage at times, because we only do our own thing.”

One of the most uniquely gifted pairs to grace the doubles court in 2022, Kokkinakis and Kyrgios began their season in style by charging to victory at their home Grand Slam, the Australian Open. A semi-final run in Miami and a second tour-level title as a team in Atlanta followed as the pair racked up a 20-7 record across the eight tournaments it played.

Yet those results only tell half the tale of Kokkinakis and Kyrgios’ time on the doubles court. The pair revelled in putting on a show for fans, who were engrossed by its exciting blend of big-serving, outrageous shotmaking, and joyous celebrating. The bigger and louder the atmosphere, the more energised the duo seemed to become.


Despite playing relatively few tournaments across the season, Kokkinakis and Kyrgios qualified for their Nitto ATP Finals debut in Turin as one of the eight best-performing teams on Tour. Kokkinakis believes it was a reward for simply sticking to their natural game.

“I think we bring our singles strengths onto the doubles court,” he said in Italy. “If we try and be doubles players instead of playing our [natural] game, it’s not going to come out too good for us... I think we are going to continue to play singles on a doubles court.”

You May Also Like: Kokkinakis & Kyrgios Named Fans' Favourite Doubles Duo In 2022 ATP Awards
History-Making Arevalo/Rojer's Big Impact
An 11-match winning streak sparked first-year pairing Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer’s 2022 season into life. The duo lifted back-to-back ATP Tour titles in Dallas and Delray Beach in February before a championship match run in Acapulco to announce its arrival as one of the most complete teams on the circuit.

That early-season form laid the foundation for a stellar year for the Salvadoran-Dutch pair, which went on to clinch its maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and a fourth tour-level title of the year on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm in October.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jean ... ean-Julien Rojer</a>/<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/marc ... w'>Marcelo Arevalo</a>
Rojer & Arevalo lift the trophy at Roland Garros. Photo Credit: Adam Pretty/Getty Images
Their biggest title triumph of the year almost never happened. Arevalo and Rojer saved three championship points against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the Roland Garros final before completing a 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3 win that etched both their names in the history books — Arevalo as the first Grand Slam men’s doubles champion from Central America, and Rojer as the oldest Grand Slam men’s doubles champion in the Open Era.

“I really want to thank my partner," the then-40-year-old Rojer said after the dramatic victory in Paris. "We spent a lot of time living and training in Miami and we decided to play together. I know this kid has a big heart. He showed it today and I thank him. I am glad he trusts me, and I am so happy and proud of this moment here.”

Mektic/Pavic Masterclass Continues
Having a successful debut season together is one thing. Backing it up is another.

Yet Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic had no problems doing just that this year. The 2021 year-end No. 1 pair in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings added five ATP Tour titles to their tally with some typically classy performances across a range of surfaces.

Clay-court crowns in Rome (their fourth together at ATP Masters 1000 level) and Geneva were followed by victories on grass at The Queen’s Club and Eastbourne during a red-hot run that saw the Croatians win 24 of 26 matches across six tournaments in May and June. That included a run to the final at Wimbledon, where they fell just one win short of completing an incredible defence of their 2021 Wimbledon title despite Pavic playing with a fractured wrist from the first set of their semi-final.


"We gave our best and we gave it a fight,” said Pavic after Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell prevailed 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-2) in a marathon championship match at SW19. “I think we can be very proud of ourselves for those two matches."

There was to be no stopping Mektic and Pavic in October at the Astana Open, however, where they lifted their fifth and final title of the season at the indoor ATP 500 event. The pair then rounded out an impressive 51-21 season with a run to the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, their 21st tour-level final appearance in just two seasons together.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/best-of-2022-doubles

[Nowitzki]

Mocna opinia Opelki o deblistach. "Najbardziej przepłacani sportowcy na świecie"

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/10367 ... na-swiecie

[Damian]

ATP Tennis Podcast Doubles Special: Salisbury On Winning The Hard Way

Spoiler:

Glasspool/Heliovaara, Arevalo, Venus and Mektic also feature
This week on the ATP Tennis Podcast...

JOE SALISBURY ON WINNING WHEN NOT PLAYING WELL – “That’s always one of the things we’ve always said we’ve improved the most as a team in the last four years we’ve been playing together, that in the tough situations we always find a way. Even if we’re not playing our best, or we’re struggling or we feel our opponents are playing better, to win those matches.”

DAVID O’HARE ON LOUIS CAYER – “He’s been such an important figure in terms of my tennis knowledge and coaching. He’s dubbed the doubles guru, but that does him a little bit of an injustice because he’s fanatical about tennis and his approach is a systematic approach. He’s really special, he’s like a tennis father to me and to be able to sit beside him during matches to pick his brain, ultimately, he has a great vision and I try to implement what he says on a daily basis.”


HARRI HELIOVAARA ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING – “I’ve always loved competition and competition has the element of winning and losing, and of course winning is much better. Now that I’m older I know that it’s not going to last forever, so I’m going to enjoy every moment to the full and when you win matches you made a good job, so why wouldn’t you celebrate?”

LLOYD GLASSPOOL ON THE SPRINGBOARD MOMENT OF GETTING INTO THE ROME MASTERS – “Looking back I think it had a massive impact on our year. It was our first real opportunity to play the top, top guys in a tournament that we’d never been in before. That was our first Masters 1000 because of our ranking and just being able to compete in that, we played the World No. 1 and beat the World No. 1, so it was just a confidence booster and realisation that we could be one of the best teams in the world.”

MARCELO AREVALO ON WINNING ROLAND GARROS – “Being the first Salvadoran and Central American player to win a Grand Slam, it was a huge success for my country and for my region. I didn’t even know until later that I was the first one, I was just trying to win as many matches as possible. I had my goals clear and one of my main goals in life was to become a Grand Slam champion.”

MICHAEL VENUS ON TRAVEL – “Once the pandemic hit, I didn’t see my family for six months. Then my wife was pregnant with our second child, and I was at home for the birth and then I left two weeks after and I didn’t see her for the first six months after that too, so it got to the point where we needed to see each other as a family. So, they started travelling towards the end of last year and they’ve been doing that ever since.”

NIKOLA MEKTIC ON LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD 2023 – “I think mentally we have learned some things this year. The first year we didn’t have many setbacks and this year we had to adapt to some not-so-good results. I think in the end we pulled through, so I’m very optimistic for the next season.”

- Podcast presented by Seb Lauzier
- Interviews by Jill Craybas and Chris Bowers

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/tennis- ... dcast-2022