Doubles Take: London, Mallorca and more

It was another week of grass-court action as the game's premier event looms on the horizon.

REPEAT PERFORMERS

Heading into Wimbledon, the favorites on the men’s side are Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo—or is it Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares?

Kubot and Melo, coming off their first grass title in 's-Hertogenbosch, followed that up with a victory in Halle for their fourth title of the season. The pair defeated Alexander and Misha Zverev in the championship match.

Not to be outdone, Murray and Soares also made it eight matches on the trot. The Stuttgart champions added Queen’s Club to their title haul, rallying to take the prestigious London title over Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.

Soares recognized just how impressive both teams have been over the past two weeks—a heady accomplishment for Brazil, in particular.

REIGN IN SPAIN

In Mallorca, Spain, Yung-Jan Chan and Martina Hingis were pushed to the brink in their first two matches. Things were a little easier in the semifinals for the top seeds as they defeated Nicole Melichar and Anna Smith in straight sets. The final was even less stressful.

The pair was awarded the title by virtue of walkover as Anastasija Sevastova and Jelena Jankovic pulled out. Sevastova had just won the singles title earlier in the day and cited a thigh injury as reason for the withdrawal. It’s the fourth title of the season for the victors, and first one on grass. They’ve now won tournaments on all three surfaces this year.

“ChanTina” did get in some on-court work, perhaps Hingis more than her partner, to the delight of the fans.

DOUBLE(S) DUTY, YET AGAIN

Ashleigh Barty does not know the meaning of relaxing on the weekend. For the second time this year, the Australian made the finals of a tournament in both singles and doubles. She fell short in her bid for the singles title in Birmingham (losing in three sets to Petra Kvitova).

Victory was not to be denied in the doubles final as she and Casey Dellacqua squeaked out a win against Hao-Ching Chan and Shuai Zhang for their third title of 2017.

Between singles and doubles, Barty’s played six finals already this year, including more Grand Slam success with Dellacqua as the pair reached the French Open final a few weeks ago. Versatility is a strong suit for Team ABCD: Like Yung-Jan Chan and Hingis, they’ve also won tournaments on all three surfaces this year.

A LOOK AHEAD

It’s the last week of warm-ups before the big W. Eastbourne is hosting both the men and women. On the ATP side, the top seeds are Bob and Mike Bryan, who shockingly remain without a title in 2017. The No. 2 seeds, Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, withdrew before play started, and the third and fourth seeds are already out. It's the Bryans title to lose.

The WTA field is led by Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, already through to the quarterfinals. It’s a strong field, with Chan and Hingis as the second seeds, and last week’s Mallorca champs Barty and Dellacqua lurking as an unseeded team.

At the Antalya Open, a new ATP tournament, veterans Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi are the top seeds. Marach and Pavic, who’ve had a strong grass-court season already, are the second seeds. Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky, who’ve had much success together in the past, have reunited and are the third seeds. Watch out for Leander Paes and Adil Shamasdin in the four spot: The duo just won a grass-court Challenger last week.