12 For '12: Doubles Performances of the Year

Peter Bodo continues his year-end awards—12 in all, for 2012—with the best performances in doubles. He previously made selections for Coaches of the Year, which includes an explanation of the process and his choices for Player of the Year. You can see rest of the awards, and the dates they'll be announced, at the end of this article.

Men: Wimbledon final; Jonathan Marray & Frederik Nielsen d. Robert Lindstedt & Horia Tecau, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-3.

It was truly one of those moments most often described as “magical.” A journeyman player from a nation so unsuccessful in tennis that it defies credibility suddenly goes on a tear and wins the biggest prize of them all, at the biggest tournament of them all, which also happens to take place in the aforementioned champion-starved nation.  

I’m talking, of course, about Marray. This win made him the first British male to win a singles or doubles championship at Wimbledon (not counting mixed) since 1936.  

But it gets even better. Nielsen is a Dane, and his grandfather was the last man from his nation to win a title at a Grand Slam tournament (that would be Kurt Nielsen, the unseeded singles finalist who lost to Tony Trabert at Wimbledon in 1955). Nielsen admitted that waves of goosebumps washed over him as he realized his dream of playing on Centre Court.  

The unlikely finalists weren’t triumphant through the offices of fate or luck, either. They knocked out second-seeded, defending champion Bryan brothers in the semifinals, and then had to suppress the hopes of a team that been runner-up the past two years. You could hardly blame Lindstedt and Tecau for feeling like they had been handed an amazing gift in the team they met in the final.  

Marray, a 31-year-old from Liverpool, had been in exactly one final in his entire career —and that was in a sub-Challenger event. He was ranked No. 9 in Great Britain, not good enough to be offered a wild card into Wimbledon. If you wanted to be cruel about it, you might eschew the word “journeyman” and describe Marray as a “wannabe.” After all, his career-high singles ranking peaked at No. 215, and earlier in the year his doubles ranking hovered near No. 100, which was pretty good, all things considered.  

Nielsen hadn’t exactly been lighting it up, either. At the start of the year, he was ranked No. 114 in doubles (career high in singles: No. 190). More to the point, though, this was only their fourth pairing as a doubles team.  

Seeing Marray and Nielsen as their final opponents must have made the favored Lindstedt and Tecau feel an enormous amount of pressure. Yet they won the first set, and the fourth-set tiebreaker. As successful veterans and third-time Wimbledon finalists, you had a right to expect them to end the underdogs’ impossible dream in a fifth set. But they did not: As British commentator and former player John Lloyd said at one point in the fifth set, astonishment having slowly but firmly crept into his general tone, “Jonny Marray is a rock.”  

Nielsen ended the match on a sharply angled volley, and when the two men did the immediate off-court interview with the BBC, Marray simply said: “I don’t know what to say.” He turned to Nielsen. “Freddy?”  

“It’s tough to put into words,” Nielsen said.  

Players who try to remain above the fray often say, “I let my racquet do the talking. . .” And this was one of those times when the boast was true—literally.  

Honorable mention: U.S. Open final; Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan d. Leander Paes & Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 6-4.

The 34-year-old American twins thereby became the all-time Grand Slam doubles champions of the Open era—displacing Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge—with 12 major titles.

Women: Wimbledon second round; Venus Williams & Serena Williams d. Maria Kirilenko & Nadia Petrova, 3-6, 6-3, 9-7.

Some of you will be tempted to scream bloody murder that Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, who played in three Grand Slam finals (and won two) didn’t get the nod in this category, but keep in mind that this award is for a single “performance”—not a body of work.  

And while it seems a travesty not to seed the Williams sisters (for all concerned: How would you like to face them in the first round?), the fact is that just like the ATP winners in this category, Venus and Serena were unseeded. They just don’t play enough doubles to earn seeding-worthy rankings, which only makes their prowess as a team that much more striking—if that’s the right word to describe these 12-time Grand Slam doubles champs). By contrast, Kirilenko and Petrova play doubles like it was an ATM machine. That not only improves their annual bottom line, it’s an asset when it comes to strategy and communication.  

In any event, this 9-7 thriller was sandwiched in during a difficult period of rain delays and postponements, partly because both Serena and Kirilenko also had to play singles (Kirilenko would go on to become a quarterfinalist). The match had been halted at a set apiece on day eight, resuming on day nine.  

Venus struggled mightily at the start of the third set, and lost her serve via three double faults to give the Russian team a 3-1 lead. But the sisters broke back for 3-4 thanks to a double fault by Kirilenko and a sizzling forehand return by Venus on the ensuing break point. Serena leveled it at 4-all with her reliable serve.  

All four women did their jobs over the ensuing six games, which left the score knotted at 7-all. Kirilenko served the next game and got into trouble quickly and deeply; it all started with a angled drop volley by Serena, and in a blink it was 0-40. The Williamses eventually earned the break with a powerful, backhand drive volley by Serena—a shot that whistled by Petrova’s ear.  

In the ensuing, match game, Serena did what Serena does best: She stepped up and popped three aces that put the match out of reach.  

Honorable mention: French Open final; Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci d. Maria Kirilenko & Nadia Petrova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

While this seems a “routine” finals win, bear in mind that Errani was also a singles finalist at Roland Garros; her grit and stamina at the tournament that many say is the most physically demanding of them all is praiseworthy.

12 for '12: Year-End Awards

**- Wednesday, November 28: Coaches of the Year

- Thursday, November 29: Doubles Performances of the Year  

- Friday, November 30: Tournaments of the Year  

- Saturday, December 1: Upsets of the Year  

- Sunday, December 2: Quotes of the Year  

- Monday, December 3: Feuds of the Year  

- Tuesday, December 4: Newcomers of the Year  

- Wednesday, December 5: Most Improved Players  

- Thursday, December 6: Biggest Disappointments  

- Friday, December 7: Comebacks of the Year  

- Saturday, December 8: Runner-Ups of the Year  

- Sunday, December 9: Stories of the Year**

**Player of the Year, Men: Novak Djokovic

Player of the Year, Women: Serena Williams**