The doubles competition starts today, Tuesday, at the ATP Masters in Madrid, which has been the subject of much discussion, particularly due to a registration system adapted to single players. Alexander Antonitschtournament director of the Kitzbühel Generali Open, gives an insight into the background.
by Daniel Hofmann
last edited: April 30, 2024, 5:58 p.m
© Getty Images
In Monte Carlo, Alexander Zverev, one of the top players, was represented in the doubles final.
Doubles has been controversial on the ATP Tour for many years. The desire for more well-placed singles players in the doubles competitions is great among the ATP and organizers. Former stars such as John McEnroe, Michel Stich and Yewegeni Kafelnikov regularly played doubles and won Grand Slam titles. At the Masters in Madrid, the ATP is testing a new format that is intended to make participation particularly attractive to individual players when registering.
In addition to 16 doubles teams that were able to register in advance of the tournament, the remaining spots in the field of 32 were reserved for single players, as well as three wildcards, or top ten singles players who could register with a player from the top 50 of the doubles world rankings. Initially, six of these pairings were added to the entry list. The last “individual teams” were able to register until shortly before the draw, which was intended to enable eliminated individual players to take part at short notice.
Small changes are also being made to the game itself, with a shortened shot clock for rallies under four shots and the elimination of a break when changing sides in the first set, which are intended to make the game faster.
As tournament director of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel, ex-professional and TV expert Alexander Antonitsch also regularly deals with the topic of doubles from the perspective of a tournament organizer. In the tennisnet interview he gives an insight into the background of the ATP plans.
tennisnet: What does the ATP expect from the doubles format played in Madrid in the short and long term?
Alexander Antonitsch: In the past, many top singles players usually also played doubles. The ATP would like to achieve this situation again in order to be able to market the doubles better. But there is also a need for organizational action. The expansion of tournaments like in Madrid and Rome presents the organizers with the challenge of the facility bursting at the seams. The compact staging of the men’s doubles in the second week will ease the situation. The doubles players were only allowed to arrive on Saturday and Sunday. It is a challenge to give all professionals enough opportunities to train with individual fields of 96 players in the main field plus qualification and the double fields of 32. Rome will also be bursting at the seams.
Are the changes in Madrid the result of a clear plan agreed upon by everyone involved?
No. The test is a compromise that, in my opinion, will ultimately benefit no one. Whether we adjust the shot clock according to the length of the rallies, reduce the warm-up, which I also do in the individual, is all well and good. But in the end not decisive if we talk about the doubles. Teams from one country such as Krawietz/Pütz, Erler/Miedler or the stars of the scene are marketable.
There was a lot of discussion about the new reporting system. How should the registration list in Madrid be assessed?
The targeted 16 individual teams did not materialize. Sinner or Alcaraz don’t play. Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas (with a wildcard) and Alex De Minaur are the real top players registered for the doubles. Therefore, this attempt, 16 teams of individual players, can be considered a failure. In order to get five or six good teams into the field, you could instead consider increasing the number of wild cards. This doesn’t take unnecessarily many places away from the doubles specialists, who already have a very difficult time at the Masters tournaments. Teams that are pushing up the doubles world rankings are being thwarted. That can’t be productive and that’s exactly what happened, as single pairings are now playing in Madrid that wouldn’t have made it into the draw at any other ATP tournament. Benjamin Hassan (ATP 159) and Abdullah Shelbayh (ATP 259), for example, entered the tournament via this rule, while Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler had to avoid the Challenger in Cagliari with a combined ranking of 84! In the end, despite all respect, one can say: a Pavel Kotov or even a Pedro Cachin will not save the doubles.
Did communication before the test in Madrid go smoothly?
From my point of view that was not the case. The doubles players themselves are sometimes unable to explain the reporting procedure set for Madrid because they received too little information from the ATP.
How attractive is the compact format played in Madrid for a tournament organizer?
To be honest, for the tournament organizer and the ATP, the doubles are unfortunately only important on the semi-final and final day. In Kitzbühel, for example, we had 28 players on site who only played doubles. We quickly reach our limits when it comes to the entire infrastructure. Of course, we are always happy at the end of a week when we play the double final in front of a sold-out crowd. In total, 30-35 percent of the total budget is spent on the doubles competition. In the end you have to admit that nobody buys a ticket for the double. This is also the case on the final day, when the spectators come for the individual final. The spectators take the double with them because it is there. Although almost 80% of amateur players like to play doubles. I think that’s a shame because I love doubles!
Are there also points that the ATP can implement for the tournament organizers in order to be able to present the doubles better?
Definitely, I have a concrete example from Kitzbühel. Dominic Thiem and Sebastian Ofner played doubles together with us last year. Understandably, they would like to play their doubles the day before their singles at Center Court to adapt to the conditions. From the ATP Media perspective, we are not allowed to schedule this double as a TV match. There are contracts here that four singles are set for the center court until the semifinal day. ATP Media only shows interest in the doubles matches at the semifinals and finals.
At which other tournaments will the ATP test formats in doubles?
The plan is for six to eight tournaments leading up to the US Open to test new formats. The exact framework will be determined after an initial evaluation after the week in Madrid. As Generali Open, we have already expressed interest. I would also find it interesting to try a round-robin format. For example, viewers in Kitzbühel would be guaranteed to see Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler three times.
Can the renewed discussion about the future of doubles be explained by a fundamental change in recent years?
The doubles competition has definitely changed a lot. Even on the lower tours. Even at Future and Challenger level, many players only rely on doubles, which I think is a shame. Lucas Miedler and Kevin Krawietz tried singles for a long time and then decided at some point that they would focus on doubles. Many players no longer try to climb the world rankings in singles, but instead focus directly on doubles. Also because the economic conditions for doubles have changed and the prize money has increased. Approximately 22 percent of the prize money in tournaments goes to the doubles teams. We then quickly talk about sums that are economically lucrative. At the highest level, the constant turnover among doubles specialists is certainly a problem. Teams simply have to stay together longer. The ATP should come up with something. The teams would also benefit from this because they could be marketed so much better. We have to find a solution and, above all, the doubles players have to be involved.
Here is the complete double tableau in Madrid
2024-04-30 15:45:00
#Controversial #doubles #competition #starts #tennisnet.com
