INDIAN WELLS — Indian Wells has become known over the years as one of the calendar's most competitive doubles tournaments. Thanks to the spread-out schedule and shortened format, many singles stars often enter the doubles draws.

The new $1 million bonus for winning both the singles and doubles tournaments doesn't hurt either. Several all-star doubles teams took the court on Friday for first-round action, some with more success than others.

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In one of the highest-profile doubles matches, Sloane Stephens and Eugenie Bouchard took on Victoria Azarenka, fresh off her first win since Wimbledon, and rising star Aryna Sabalenka.

The doubles game limited the players' targets and challenged their creativity, making them hit quick-draw volleys, go for extreme-angle groundstrokes and thread returns between the net player and the wider doubles sidelines. After two fun-point-packed sets, Azarenka and Sabalenka won the match in a 10-7 super tiebreak.

In the night session on Stadium 2, another surprise pairing, Juan Martin del Potro and Grigor Dimitrov, played against Marc Lopez, who won this tournament with Rafael Nadal in 2010 and 2012, and Feliciano Lopez.

That one didn't go so well for the singles players, with the Spaniards winning, 6-4, 6-2.

To finish the night on Stadium 1, Jack Sock, a decorated doubles player but more serious singles player, partnered with 2012 finalist John Isner against Fernando Verdasco and Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

At the net, Sock jumped at any ball that came even remotely close to him, almost always ending the point in his team's favor. Returning from the ad side, he had the luxury of running as far around his backhand as he wanted, knowing Isner could pick up the lost court coverage.

The Americans won 6-3, 7-6 (6).

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Doubles play on the docket for Saturday includes the Bryan brothers versus the Zverev brothers, the wildcard team of Steve Johnson and Daniel Nestor and Australian Open champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.