Doubles Take: Hewitt returns to the court (again)

It’s Day 2 of doubles action at the Australian Open, and here’s a brief recap along with three matches to look out for on Thursday.

The men’s and women’s doubles competitions kicked off on Wednesday, with only one seeded team losing: the No. 14 pairing of Ivan Dodig and Fernando Verdasco, who fell to Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey in straight sets.

Though the seeds had stellar results for the most part, the wins were hard to come by for some. For example, Bob and Mike Bryan, as well as Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray, had to rally after dropping the opening set.

Here’s a look at three matches that stand out on the schedule. No seeds here, but plenty of star power.

Sam Groth/Lleyton Hewitt vs. Denis Istomin/Mikhail Kukushkin

Groth kicks off his final main-draw campaign in his home Slam, and he has some pretty prestigious company helping him bid farewell to the sport.

The Australian is teaming up with Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who came out of retirement (again) in Brisbane (where he lost in the first round with Jordan Thompson). It makes sense that Hewitt and Groth would team up: After all, Groth was Hewitt’s partner back in his first final tournament, the 2016 Australian Open.

They'll start against Novak Djokovic conqueror Istomin and the veteran, Kukushkin. Expect a near-Davis Cup atmosphere out there.

Jelena Ostapenko/Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Lara Arruabarrena/Arantxa Parra Santonja

French Open champion Ostapenko has failed to make it out of the first round in doubles the past two years at the Australian Open. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to play: She won two Premier events last year on two different surfaces. It's been a while for her partner, who only has one career doubles title, won back in 2013. Their Spanish opponents are more accomplished, with 18 doubles titles between them, but Ostapenko and Pavlyuchenkova have loads of firepower, which could make the difference in Ostapenko breaking her opening-round winless streak.

Nicholas Monroe/John-Patrick Smith vs. Nick Kyrgios/Matt Reid:

Smith and Reid have each made one doubles final in their career: In Newport last year, when they teamed up and made a run to the championship match. The two have also won three Challenger titles together, so it’s safe to say they know each other’s games well, and surprises should be few and far between.

At last year’s US Open, Monroe and Smith made a run to the quarterfinals. Kyrgios and Reid have also had their moments together on court.

A fired-up Kyrgios can have a big impact on the results, but Monroe and Smith’s steadiness should serve them well.

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