The French Open doubles draw kicked off in style in Paris on Wednesday, with the four seeds progressing through despite stiff competition and dramatic deciding games.
The doubles tournament kicked off with the top two players in the world, Camden Riviere and John Lumley, teaming up for the first time in four years. Their opponents were the qualifiers, Bertie Vallat and Clément Depreeuw, the latter being the only Frenchman in the main draw competition. A relaxed if not jovial mood hung in the air as no player was under any illusions as to the final result. Riviere and Lumley were more than happy to bunt the ball around, playing games within the game to test the abilities of their opponents. Vallat leaned into it, defending well where he could, while Depreeuw was clinging on to protect his wellbeing, relishing the opportunity to play at a higher standard. As an example, Riviere won the first set with the highest of moon balls, utilising the full height of the Parisian court and getting the ball to bounce up steeply into the dedans. Vallat and Depreeuw managed to pick up a game in each set — and two in the third, but the inevitable result came to pass.
The second match saw two well-established pairs go head to head. Levi Gale and Lewis Williams took on Bryn Sayers and Ben Taylor-Matthews. Williams opted for Taylor-Matthews’s serve in the first set. The first game set the tone, a long deuce battle, with the players slamming the ball around the court in the hope of a misread or racket error. Gale and Williams took the early lead and built from there, with their forcing a particular highlight. They went 5/2 up but couldn’t quite hit their shots to find the final game, as Sayers and Taylor-Matthews battled back to set up a deciding game. A challenged but fair out of court call above the dedans penthouse saw Gale and Williams reach set point first, but playing chase 5, Williams’s force hit the bottom ledge of the penthouse. Now at the service end, Sayers cleaned up the next two points, taking the set.
Gale and Williams retained the serving setup for the second set. By now, Taylor-Matthews was relishing his anchor role, with Sayers interceding where necessary to try and extract a winner. Their six-game streak was broken at 3/0 in the second set with a lobbed dedans from Gale off the tambour. It didn’t slow them down, though, as Taylor-Matthews came out of his shell and started blasting forces that beat their opponents for pace. Sayers stayed on Gale’s serve for the third set. Sayers and Taylor-Matthews dropped in their intensity, allowing Gale and Williams to stay level throughout. They eventually ground their way to a 5/3 lead, making sure they stayed in the rally for as long as possible and awaiting the mistake. Sayers stepped up to win the next game with some more kill shots before Williams brought up a set point with his forcing. Then the rain started falling, with the water dripping through an open window and forming a puddle on the last gallery line. Play was paused briefly while they mopped up, resuming briefly for a couple of points. Taylor-Matthews and Sayers were desperately trying to finish the match, but some last-ditch defending from Gale and Williams saw them take the set instead.
The rain prevented the resumption of play for the fourth set by 20 minutes while the players waited for the court to be safe to play again. Sayers still took Gale’s serve on the resumption. After Sayers and Taylor-Matthews took an early lead, Gale and Williams dialled it up a notch, knowing that it was do or die. They went all out on the attack, with Gale putting in an extended effort at the back of the court, testing their opponents’ defensive skills to their fullest extent. Sayers and Taylor-Matthews held firm, putting strings to everything until eventually Gale made an error. They built a four-game lead which proved to be unassailable despite a late surge from Gale and Williams, earning a date with Lumley and Riviere.
The third match saw the reuniting of former World Doubles Champions Robert Fahey and Steve Virgona, for just their second outing together since losing the title in Tuxedo in 2015. Their opponents were Benedict Yorston and Zak Eadle, the latter drafted in to replace Erik Barker who withdrew after qualification. Eadle took Virgona’s serve for the first set as the number 2 seeds played server-up. Despite his jackrabbit energy at the back of the court there was little that Yorston could do against the might and power of Fahey and Virgona. Eadle tried to support where he could — earning their only game of the first set with a force at the dedans — but even that was futile as Fahey and Virgona had everything covered. Yorston switched onto Fahey’s serve for the next two sets, and even attempted putting Yorston at the front, but still couldn’t make progress. Their only game in the third set came from a high back wall winning gallery. Fahey and Virgona completed a straightforward victory, ensuring their progression to the semi-finals.
The cocktail match was between Henry Henman and Nino Merola and the fourth seeds Robert Shenkman and Vaughan Hamilton, the latter joining forces for the first time. The match began with Henman on Shenkman’s serve, and the play immediately hit a high intensity. Shenkman got hit twice in the first two games while trying to leave the ball to his partner. The ball pinged around like a pinball machine with Henman and Hamilton the noted aggressors. Shenkman’s defensive prowess was being tested to its limits, with Henman and Merola earning a two-game lead in the first set. A good run from the service end saw Hamilton and Shenkman bring the set back to 5-all, saving two set points along the way as Merola’s shots missed their intended openings. In the deciding game a series of devastating cut-volleys from Henman brought them three set points and a chase, which was duly defended.
Shenkman opted to stay on Henman’s serve for the second set. The play was fairly evenly matched. Hamilton was aiding Shenkman more so he didn’t have to do it all on his own from the back, whereas Henman never stopped dancing across the middle of the court, protecting Merola’s backhand side. Neither pair got more than a game ahead until Merola and Henman stole a game at 4/3, leaving Hamilton and Shenkman to have to fight their way back in again, again recovering to 5-all without difficulty. This time, Shenkman got on top of Henman’s serve, kicking off some sublime counterattacking from Merola. They reached 15-all before the first change of ends, and an opening each way made it 30-all. Both sides had set points that were seen off before Henman and Merola laid two chases to get back down the service end. Playing chase 4, Shenkman lobbed the ball high. Despite Henman’s appeal to leave it, Merola played it but it went out of court via the penthouse. They picked off Merola’s volley on the next point to go to 1 set all.
The teams still couldn’t be separated going into the third set. As the players were getting more tired, errors were creeping in, with neither Shenkman nor Merola able to maintain the same defensive intensity at the back of the court. This time, Shenkman and Hamilton were the ones to break away first, extending out to 5/3 despite being at the hazard end. They found themselves 40-15 up, before Henman went into beast mode to try and defend the set points, adopting Chisholmesque positioning to try and get ahead of the play. He recovered to deuce, but gave away another set point with a ball that refused to fall over the net cord, with the set then going to Hamilton and Shenkman.
Hamilton and Shenkman built a small lead at the start of the fourth set. The play was becoming increasingly sloppy. Henman was getting bolder, Shenkman was trying to draw on his experience playing long matches, Merola was experimenting with his high serve and Hamilton was hitting it harder and harder. Shenkman and Hamilton got on top, extending a big lead in the set. With match point, playing chase seven, Shenkman hit a cut volley into Merola’s feet, which caused Shenkman and Hamilton to clap hands in celebration, only for the call to be made that it had bounced first for a chase off. Moments later, playing a hazard chase, Shenkman framed a ball over and into the hazards. Henman chucked his racket on the floor in annoyance having lost the match, while the others looked around to confirm that the chase had, in fact, been beaten.
Play continues on Thursday with the singles semi-finals and the first of the women’s draw. The doubles competition continues on Friday with the semi-finals.
Match results:
10:00 AM: John Lumley & Camden Riviere (1) def Clément Depreeuw & Bertie Vallat 6/1 6/1 6/2
1:00 PM: Levi Gale & Lewis Williams lost to Bryn Sayers & Ben Taylor-Matthews (3) 5/6 2/6 6/4 4/6
4:00 PM: Benedict Yorston & Zak Eadle lost to Robert Fahey & Steve Virgona (2) 1/6 1/6 1/6
7:00 PM: Robert Shenkman & Vaughan Hamilton (4) def Nino Merola & Henry Henman 5/6 6/5 6/3 6/1
Order of play for Thursday (all times CEST):
1:00 PM: Amy Wintersteen vs Claire Voegele
4:00 PM: Camden Riviere (1) vs Steve Virgona (3)
7:00 PM: Ben Taylor-Matthews (4) vs John Lumley (2)