Doubles Take: Charleston, Monterrey & more

The WTA’s clay-court season kicked off last week, while the men prepare to get in the swing of things.

FEAT OF CLAY

Rotating through a set of partners, the veteran Anna-Lena Groenefeld had managed a final-round showing mixed in with multiple early losses so far in 2019. Teaming up with Alicja Rosolska at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston Groenefeld had a week to remember with her fellow doubles standout.

The team didn’t drop a set all week as they won their first title together.

MONTERREY MAGIC

Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez are also proving to be quite the team. The Americans won their second title in just over six months, coming out on top in Monterrey as they defeated Australians Monique Adamczak and Jessica Moore in straight sets in the final.

Muhammad upped her record to a perfect 4-0 in championship matches, while Sanchez improved to 3-1 with her only loss coming in 2016 in Monterrey. Looks like she picked the perfect venue to make up for that defeat.

THIS WEEK

After a week off on the main tour, the men are back in action as their big clay-court stretch gets underway. At the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston, the top-seeded team of Bob and Mike Bryan will be going for their third title of the season—and seventh at the tournament. Austin Krajicek and Artem Sitak, the No. 2 seeds, are already through to the quarters.

In Marrakech, mixing it up seems to be the trend: former partners Jamie Murray and John Peers are teaming up. The top seeds have had Grand Slam-winning success with Bruno Soares and Henri Kontinen, respectively, since splitting up. Rohan Bopanna and Dominic Inglot are the second seeds and could potentially face Jurgen Melzer and Franko Skugor in the quarters. Inglot and Skugor won three tournaments together last year.

The women also have two events this week. Before the first ball was struck in Bogota, top seeds Dalila Jakupovic and Irina Kromacheva were out with an injury. Lara Arruabarrena and Sara Sorribes Tormo won their first-round match in straights and are now in the quarters. At the other tournament on the calendar, in Lugano, Switzerland, Galina Voskoboeva and Veronika Kudermetova top the draw, followed by Cornelia Lister and Renata Voracova. Belinda Bencic, who was the top seed in singles, will try to put her opening-round loss behind her as she partners Viktoria Kuzmova.

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