DOUBLES PAIRINGS IN INDIAN WELLS ANNOUNCED; NADAL PLAYING WITH CARRENO BUSTA BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 2nd March 2015
Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland
DOUBLES PAIRINGS IN INDIAN WELLS ANNOUNCED; NADAL PLAYING WITH CARRENO BUSTA BY RICKY DIMON

epa02639302 Roger Federer of Switzerland (R) and doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland wait for a return against Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Michal Mertinak of Slovakia at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA 17 March 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO  |

Nowhere on the entire ATP World Tour is the doubles draw annually more intriguing than at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. In addition to the traditional doubles specialists, singles players–even the very top guys–often sign up for doubles in the desert.

 

Last year the doubles event enjoyed the additional benefit of serving as a Davis Cup warm-up. The cup quarterfinals were held immediately following the Miami Masters, but this time around they are not until July–so there may not be quite as many pairings between countrymen in Indian Wells.

 

“I thought it would be a nice way to get started into the tournament,” Roger Federer explained in 2014 when asked about his Indian Wells partnership with fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka. “I do quite enjoy [playing doubles] still. And yeah, maybe Davis Cup’s a bit on the back of our minds. But for me, it’s more I enjoy playing with him and I enjoy playing the doubles at Indian Wells.”

 

The Davis Cup factor or not, this year’s Indian Wells doubles draw is already guaranteed to provide plenty of intrigue. With wild cards and on-site signups yet to be announced, 22 of the 32 teams have been revealed.

 

Standard doubles powerhouses, of course, are on the list. Among them are Bob and Mike Bryan, Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, and Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, just to name a few.

 

Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, who are obviously singles players by trade, made a surprise run to the Australian Open title and will team up again in Indian Wells. Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil, also singles players, won Wimbledon in 2014 and are partnering each other once more next week (if Sock is healthy enough to play).

 

There will be no Federer-Wawrinka duo this time around. Wawrinka is playing with Lukasz Kubot. Other pairings featuring singles stars are Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta, Grigor Dimitrov and Mardy Fish, and David Goffin and Roberto Bautista Agut. John Isner and Sam Querrey, who were semifinalists in 2014, are currently No. 1 on the alternate list ahead of Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy.

 

Nadal is a two-time Indian Wells doubles champion, having prevailed each time with Marc Lopez. The world No. 3 is 13-1 in his last 14 doubles matches at this event. Nadal is 5-1 in doubles this season (all matches with Juan Monaco), including a title in Doha.

Doubles partners Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) and Marc Lopez of Spain (R) prepare for the serve during their doubles match against Roger Federer of Switzerland and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, 18 March 2011. EPA/PAUL BUCK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carreno Busta reached three consecutive ATP doubles quarterfinals–including two semis–with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez starting last fall in Valencia.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: , , , , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.