Doubles Take: Atlanta, Moscow and more

Presenting to you updates on all the team action from both tours, it’s Doubles Take.

A CHAMPION ONCE AGAIN

Over the past year and a half, Nicholas Monroe has gotten plenty of mentions in Doubles Take, but not for the most important reason of all: winning a tournament.

That comes to an end now, along with his three-year title drought.

The American and his Australian partner John-Patrick Smith beat Rajeev Ram and Ryan Harrison for the Atlanta Open title in a match that went down to the wire. It's Monroe's fourth career title and Smith's first. The winning duo was playing in its second final of the year.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

At the inaugural Moscow River Cup, the local crowd was able to once again witness the winning return of one of its best players of the past 15 years.

Vera Zvonareva, who's been on the comeback trail after stepping away to start a family, and Anastasia Potapova took the clay-court event over Alexandra Panova and Galina Voskoboeva in the final. It's Zvonareva's second doubles title of the year—and in Russia, too: She and Timea Baczinsky won in St. Petersburg in February.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, PART 2

In an all-China affair, Xinyu Jiang and Qianhui Tang beat Jing-Jing Lu and Xiaodi You in the final of the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang, China.

It's the second title for both teenagers, who won the tournament last year.

GONE STREAKING

For the second week in a row, Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos are bringing home the first-place hardware.

The duo knocked out the top-seeded team of Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in the final of the ATP 500-level event in Hamburg, Germany. It's the sixth title together for the Chilean-Argentinian pair.

A NEW KILLER 'B'?

Last year, it seemed like players on the WTA Tour whose surnames began with a B were racking up the single-doubles sweeps at tournaments. Doubles Take then grouped them together as the Killer B's.

While no one on the WTA has pulled off the feat this year, someone from the ATP just did.

Marco Berrettini had a weekend to remember in Gstaad, Switzerland: The Italian won his first career singles title, then followed that up with a triumph in doubles with countryman Daniele Bracciali. Berrettini had never won a tour-level match in dubs.

If you're going to join the Killer B's, you have to do it in style!

A LOOK AHEAD

As preparation for the US Open ramps up, the tours come together for the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., this week. On the men's side, the draw is so deep, 2018 Grand Slam finalists Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah and Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus aren't even seeded. Neither is Wimbledon winner Mike Bryan, who's playing with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The top seeds are Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, followed by defending champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers. Hao-Ching Chan and Zhaoxuan Yang—going for their second title of the year—and Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voracova, headline the women’s field.

The other WTA tournament on tap this week is in San Jose, California, where the top seeds are Latisha Chan and Kveta Peschke, coming together for the first time this year. The second seeds are Mihaela Buzurnescu and Heather Watson.

The men have two other events going on this week, one of them being the last clay-court tournament of the year in Kitzbuhel, Austria, where top seeds Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos will try to win their third tournament in a row.  In Los Cabos, Mexico, local hero Santiago Gonzalez is partnering David Marrero to lead the field, while the second seeds are Jonathan Erlich and Joe Salisbury. Atlanta champ Nicholas Monroe is seeded third with Romain Arneodo.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias