Doubles Take: Previewing the Nitto ATP Finals

As play gets underway at the Nitto ATP Finals in London, here's a look at the eight teams making up the field at the last tournament of the year.

1

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo

Playing together for the first time on a regular basis this year, Melo and Kubot have had dominating stretches on all surfaces in 2017. Their unbeaten streak on grass included their first Grand Slam title together at Wimbledon.

2

Henri Kontinen and John Peers

The defending champions at the year-end championship, Kontinen and Peers started off 2017 in winning fashion, capturing their first Grand Slam title together at the Australian Open. They hit a rough stretch for the bulk of the season, but won Washington before the US Open and most recently took the Masters title in Shanghai.

The pair started off on the wrong note on Sunday, dropping their first match to Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus, 6-4, 7-6 (8).

3

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau

The veteran team entered the US Open fresh off a victory at the last tuneup before the year’s final major. They left New York with their second Grand Slam title together, putting the perfect cap on a statement-making season of consistent results.

4

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares

Two-time Grand Slam winners in 2016, Murray and Soares couldn’t break through at the majors this year, but still won three titles, including two in a row on grass. The duo was a walking highlight reel all season.

5

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

The greatest male doubles team of all time didn’t have a campaign in line with their lofty expectations, but did start off the year with a runner-up finish at the Australian. In the second half of the year, the twins won two titles: on grass in Nottingham and on hard courts in Atlanta.

6

Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert

Despite struggling at the Grand Slam level, the Frenchmen posted another solid season, winning three Masters tournaments, including the two on hard courts before the US Open in Canada and Cincinnati.

7

Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers

A new pairing in 2017, Dodig and Granollers enter London playing some of their best tennis of the season, having won the Swiss Indoors and following that up with a runner-up finish at the Paris Masters.

8

Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Grand Slam season was the run by old friends Michael Venus and Ryan Harrison to the French Open title. The unseeded duo, who won in Estoril on  clay a few weeks before the tournament, beat a number of top teams along the way to the first major for either of them.

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