Singles stars have shined in doubles in Indian Wells

Even though she decided to focus more on her singles career and cut back on doubles in 2019, Elise Mertens definitely has not gotten her own memo.

The Belgian teamed up with Aryna Sabalenka to win the women’s title in Indian Wells over two-time major winners Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova.

They weren’t the only Top-20 singles stars to shine over the course of the doubles events: “Djokognini,” the men’s pairing of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Fabio Fognini, came within a match tiebreak of reaching the final while toppling some of the best teams along the way.

Indian Wells traditionally sees players who usually make a go of it in singles invade the doubles draw. Of late, the tournament has offered a $1 million bonus to whomever pulls off the singles-doubles sweep. It’s a rare feat, last accomplished by Jim Courier back in 1991, when he and Javier Sanchez defeated Guy Forget—the player he beat in the singles final—and Henri Leconte.

Last year on the men’s side, Jack Sock and John Isner—both of whom had been struggling in singles leading up to Indian Wells—claimed the title over Bob and Mike Bryan.

Isner was able to use the momentum gained from that run to capture the biggest singles title of his career in Miami a couple of weeks later.

So whether it’s the 2009 championship pairings of Mardy Fish/Andy Roddick and Vera Zvonareva/Victoria Azarenka, or Rafael Nadal claiming a couple of titles with Marc Lopez, Indian Wells has consistently rewarded players ready to double up in their endeavors over the years.

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