Doubles Take: Top seeds dominate women's doubles

The draws are winding down at Wimbledon: Doubles Take looks ahead to some stellar match-ups.

In women’s doubles this year, the (strawberries and) cream has clearly risen to the top.

For the first time in 10 years, the top four seeds have all advanced to the semifinals. Today saw Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Sinaikova, the number-two seeds and defending champions, take out the eighth-seeded pairing of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Demi Schuurs in straights.

Another Czech kept on winning, too: Barbora Strycova, a semifinalist in singles, and Su-Wei Hsieh knocked off the number-six seeds Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka. The third seeds have already captured a grass-court title this season in Birmingham. Next up for them are the top seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, while Krejcikova and Siniakova will face Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu.

Here’s a look at some of tomorrow’s action.

Bruno Soares/Nicole Melichar (1) vs. Matwe Middelkoop/Yang Zhaoxuan:

Soares and Melichar will enter the match fresh off a statement-making win as they defeated the big-name pairing of Andy Murray and Serena Williams in three sets in the prior round.

Middelkoop and Zhaoxuan are also coming off a three-set win in the round of 16, and will be eager for the upset. It might be too tall of an order, though, against two of the best in the business.

Nicolas Mahut/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (11) vs. Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek:

There’s usually a story behind every player’s journey through a tournament, but few at this stage are more compelling than Polasek’s. While the Slovakian has had a dream run, Mahut—with his own tales to tell—and Roger-Vasselin are primed to follow up their upset over top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo with an appearance in the championship round.

Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (2) vs. Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus (3):

The road to this stage of the tournament hasn’t been easy for either of these teams, with both of them coming off five-set victories where they flirted with disaster. Both of them will be trying for a second Grand Slam final together: “Colombian Power” reached the championship match in Melbourne last year, while Klaasen and Venus did the same at Wimbledon. Each team has won a grass-court title this year, and this could be another match that goes the distance.

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