JonH wrote:

---

flamingowings wrote:

---

JonH wrote:

---

Armchair wrote:

---

Edit: Jo prob wants to do well in singles and maybe doesn't want the hype of singles and mixed

-- Edited by flamingowings on Thursday 20th of June 2019 08:37:31 PM

---

Frankly Jo might benefit with something outside of her 'process'.

Many singles players enjoy the chance to be a pairing and remember it's fun to play.

---

 Particularly with Tokyo Olympics only 12 months away . 7 years since london as well, wow.

---

 I don't disagree but Jo has to make the best choices for her career. Also, she played dismally with Jamie in Rio. That was painful to watch. There would be a lot of hype for GB players at home to do well when they are as well known as Jo and Andy.

---

 You mentioned heather playing with kontinen,  is that a confirmed entry or are you just assuming? I wondered if there was an entry list somewhere. 

 

Re andy, I remember reading an early bio that he gets on well venus and serena. One of those two,  venus perhaps, would make a good partner. Imagine the hype!

---

 No list as yet. Assuming - based on Heather's instagram where she wished Henri happy birthday and then the following: Henri- but I don't wanna play Wimbledon with you Heather: too bad hun ;) which seems like banter and given they won and were RU deserve to be in the draw.

Looking forward to Stevens tweets on Monday announcing a return to the doubles rankings for a GB player!! Didnt see it all but looked pretty sharp in and around the net.

Madadman wrote:

---

JonH wrote:

---

Re FAA, if he withdrew tomorrow could draper and Norris still get a lucky loser spot if they're still around? Assuming the other pair, verdasco and cecchinato arent around of course, but they may well be.

---

 Considering they withdrew from the tournament then I assume it wouldnt be possible.

---

 mmm. yes, youd be right there! 

 

 

Today shows nicely just what a joke professional doubles is. Any scratch pairing of top 20 singles players wouldnt lose a doubles match on tour all season. Thats a scientific fact, not even an opinion.

One thing it does show me is that being an established pair isnt really that important or big a deal. There are many examples this season where scratch pairings do well and go deep in events. The ATP push the race for pairs but v often at end of season it is very lame as a narrative with many pairings giving up and starting to redeploy once they realise the chances of qualifying are slim. Of the current top 8, Jamie and Bruno have split with the knock on effect of Marach and Pavic splitting as Pavic joins Soares and Herbert and Mahut are playing apart at the moment as Herbert focuses on singles (and plays with Andy in Wimbledon doubles).

I have long been an advocate that having a year end doubles is of course very important in terms of exposure but why not make the race about individual players, let them gather points like that, sometimes swapping pairings etc and then invite the top 16 to play in the World Tour Finals. The top 16 can either be allocated partners based on who they perhaps scored most points with or be left to work out the 8 pairings for the final themselves - probably the former I suspect as the latter may be mayhem!

Taking the current top 16, the 8 tour final pairs might be:

Mike Bryan and Jack Sock (as Bob is still 33rd)
Kubot and Melo
Cabal and Farah
Soares and Pavic
Klaasen and Venus
Mektic and Zeballos (although not a top pairing they are playing together on and off)
Jamie Murray, Mahut . Rojer and Kontinen would then need to work out who pairs with who, probably Murray and Kontinen but who knows. Would be interesting though!

The old WCT World Doubles event sponsored by Braniff at Olympia was a forerunner of the WTF and had top 16 players and several resultant scratch pairs and the scratch pairs such as Nastase and Sherwood Stewart (who had never played with Nasty, usually played with Fred McNair) reached the final one year. I recall mark Cox playing with Stewart another year, again scratch pairing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_WCT_World_Doubles

-- Edited by JonH on Thursday 20th of June 2019 10:51:57 PM

JonH wrote:

---

flamingowings wrote:

---

I put this in the Andy thread too but Andy will play Wimbledon doubles with Pierre-Hughes Herbert. Bit of a shame for Mahut though.

---

 I'd read herbert was focusing on singles, hence this week he is in halle. So presumably mahut is playing with roger-vasellin at Wimbledon and herbert didn't have a plan to play doubles? 

---

 I see you have answered this q already but yes. When I was watching the Paire/PHH match at RG whoever was doing the coms said that PHH had always played both doubles and singles - always. But now he is that bit older, he started getting some good singles results and now instead of regularly playing doubles he uses the time to practice his singles. Obviously PHH Could be probably aged queens too but he seems to be doing pretty well in Halle (& the French were well represented there too)  PHH is actually playing doubles with Goffin in Halle.