Doubles Take: Previewing the Davis Cup duos

It’s a special Davis Cup edition of Doubles Take, looking at what could be a drama-filled Saturday when the duos take the court.

So. Many. Choices.

In the last Davis Cup final as we know it, Croatia will face France with a slew of options for the doubles rubber. France, meanwhile, will roll out a battle-tested duo as it seeks to defend its title in the international team competition.

The nations have split their two previous Davis Cup encounters, with their most recent matchup coming in 2016. Then, Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig defeated Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to help Croatia advance to the finals.

Here’s a look at each nation and what could be in the cards for the middle day of the contest.

FRANCE

Last year, Captain Yannick Noah did the near-unthinkable by choosing Richard Gasquet to partner with Herbert. The gamble paid off, but this time, he’s taking no chances. Herbert and Mahut have been playing to their customary levels of brilliance in 2018, as they won the French Open—their third major title together—and are coming off a runner-up finish at the ATP Finals last week.

So far in 2018, the pair is 2-0 in Davis Cup, only dropping one set in the first two rounds. In the semifinals, Mahut partnered with Julien Benneteau against Spain to clinch the finals berth for their country.

CROATIA

Against Canada in the first round this year, Cilic and Dodig rallied from two sets down to edge out Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor, and in the quarterfinals, Dodig partnered with Nikola Mektic to beat Kazakhstan.

The veteran Croat’s win streak came to an end in the semis, when he and Mate Pavic fell to Ryan Harrison and Mike Bryan of the US in five sets. Though he’s been involved in every tie this year, Dodig is only one piece of the puzzle for Croatia. Pavic held the No. 1 spot in the rankings for a good portion of the year, while Franko Skugor won three titles in 2018. Cilic rarely even plays doubles on the regular tour, but is a stalwart when it comes to Davis Cup.

As France goes for its 11th Davis Cup title and Croatia its second, the doubles rubber could be crucial in determining the outcome.

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