With big names and strong billing, doubles in no trouble at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—There aren't a lot of tournaments where there's someone in the hotel lobby having a conversation about a doubles match. Then again, there aren't a lot of doubles matches like the Bryan brothers against Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.

The blockbuster first-round meeting was the highlight of the men's doubles event at Indian Wells, where the two-on-two version of the sport is showcased more prominently than elsewhere. Because of the tournament’s 10-day duration, many singles players sign up for doubles, producing some intriguing match-ups.

"Yeah, we usually don't look at draws, but a couple of guys came up to us and said, 'Did you guys see the first round,'" said Mike Bryan.

"Mahesh Bhupathi came up to us," added Bob Bryan. "He was like, 'Saw you guys play the Spaniards at night tomorrow. It's going to be brutal.' We were like, 'Which Spaniards?'

"We knew we had to be ready for that one. They came out whizzing balls, whizzing forehands like they always do. Couple times they really caught us off guard with the spin and the heaviness."

The match had a primetime start and was played on Stadium 2, the 8,000-seat venue which was packed well before the players walked on court. It even attracted celebrities, including Mike Tyson, tournament owner Larry Ellison and more than one Hollywood actress.

"A bunch of A-list celebrities," said Mike. "We were watching the big screen when we were sitting down."

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It lived up to the billing, with Nadal and Verdasco taking the first set before the Bryans grabbed the second and took a thrilling champions tiebreak to help doubles standbys retain bragging rights.

It's unusual for a doubles match to get this kind of attention, but even more remarkably, it’s a regular occurrence at Indian Wells, where the likes of Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic can be found mingling with the doubles undercards.

This year is no different. A packed doubles draw features top-ranked teams such as Jamie Murray-Bruno Soares and Daniel Nestor-Radek Stepanek, top-ranked Marcelo Melo as well as the popular Vasek Pospisil-Jack Sock combo. But it's also dotted with more unusual pairing such as John Isner-Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios-Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov-Max Mirnyi and Richard Gasquet-Benoit Paire. Not to mention appearances by Andy Murray, David Goffin and Bernard Tomic.

"Yeah, this tournament is very high profile doubles tournament because of all the singles stars that are entered," said Bob. "We're proud of the way we played here.... especially in front of our home fans.

"One year we played Federer first and Nadal second round."

It means more competition for the doubles players, but they seem to enjoy their elevated standing. "This is the best tournament of the year to play doubles," said Jamie Murray, who had a decent crowd for his doubles match, which was on a side court the same evening.

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The women's draw is not quite as jammed, but it has also had some noteworthy meetings like top-ranked Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis against Casey Dellacqua-Sam Stosur, and Angelique Kerber-Andrea Petkovic against Yung-Jan Chan-Hao-Ching Chan.

It's tough for doubles to get much attention on the crowded tennis tour, where even the most hardcore fans have difficulty keeping up with just the singles game. The scoring format that keeps doubles matches compact—no-ad scoring; a match tied after two sets is decided in a champions tiebreak—can be confusing to spectators. The fast-moving discipline is much more intricate than singles, and requires a knowledgeable commentator to explain what's unfolding to the uninitiated.

But there are occasions when doubles is front and center, like at the Davis Cup (doubles, the third rubber, gets its own day), Wimbledon (the only Grand Slam tournament where doubles matches are best-of-five sets), the ATP and WTA season-ending championships (good billing) and on this particular evening at Indian Wells. At those times, when people are watching and invested in the match, it's obvious that high-quality doubles has a gripping quality and high-velocity, rat-a-tat rallies that produce memorable, exciting tennis.

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The question is whether that kind of attention can be reproduced at other tournaments. Scheduling and familiar names seem to be key features. Jamie Murray believes good courts and timing encourage people to come watch. "And when they come, they enjoy it.," he added.

"This tournament features the doubles pretty well,” said Mike Bryan. “Big showcourts. Seems like the crowds really come. Doesn't hurt having the top names of singles guys in the draw. People love to see the top singles guys playing them in the clashes”

Bob Bryan gave his take. "I think doubles thrives in countries that have a great doubles history—Australia, the U.S., Great Britain. That's where doubles is at its most popular. Countries do a great job of promoting and featuring it.

"But yeah... you put stars on the court, people are going to show up. Put Nadal out there. Doesn't matter if he's playing mixed doubles or brushing his teeth, people are coming to watch."

Kamakshi Tandon is a regular contributor to TENNIS.com and is reporting from the 2016 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.