Madrid (Spain) – In the first tournament in which the ATP tested the new rules in doubles, the champions were Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson. Forming an unprecedented partnership on the circuit, the North American and the Australian overcame the duet between Uruguayan Ariel Behar and Czech Adam Pavlasek in this Saturday’s decision, scoring 6/3 and 7/6 (9-7) in 1h17 of time. match.
This was Korda’s first title in doubles and the second overall in his career, as in singles he had won the ATP 250 in Parma, also on clay, in 2021. Current 185th place in the specialty ranking, nine below his best mark, he will make a big leap straight into the top 60, taking 57th position. Plus, he will share a prize pool of US$391,600 with Thompson.
In turn, the 30-year-old Australian lifts his sixth and most important doubles trophy in his career. In 2024 alone, he had already won three tournaments, in Dallas, Los Cabos and Houston, all alongside compatriot Max Purcell, with whom he also triumphed in Houston last year. In 2017, he triumphed in Brisbane with fellow local Thanasi Kokkinakis. Currently in 58th place, one below his personal record, he will debut in the top 40 next Monday, occupying more precisely 36th place, just ahead of Marcelo Melo from Minas Gerais.
Runner-ups will have the best career ranking
On the other hand, Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek are not leaving Madrid empty-handed. In addition to sharing a prize of US$207,300, they will earn 600 points each, essential for them to reach their best career rankings. Currently in 39th place, the Uruguayan will move up to 34th place and beat the old best mark, which was number 37 in April. The Czech, who appears today in 40th place, will be the new 35th in the world, two places above the record also achieved last month.
Irreproachable campaign in ATP “test tournament”
Loose in the bracket, Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson overcame four favorite partnerships during the campaign, conceding a single set and the entire tournament. In their debut, they beat the main entrants, Indian Rohan Bopanna and Australian Matthew Ebden, in straight sets. Subsequently, the victims were Argentine Andres Molteni and Australian John Peers. In the quarterfinals, the Italians Simone Bolelli and Andre Vavassori fell by the wayside, while in the semis it was necessary to go to a match-tiebreak against the British Jamie Murray and the New Zealander Michael Venus.
The North American and Australian title will also be notable as it is the first event in the new format that the ATP has put to the test in the doubles bracket. Among the changes imposed by the entity are the shortening of the time, from 25 to 15 seconds, to put the ball in play when the previous point had fewer ball exchanges, in addition to the end of the 90-second pause every two games, maintaining a longer rest interval at the end of the first set.
But one of the most controversial points in the ATP’s transformation was the attempt to attract more singles players to the doubles tournament, reserving half of the places for partnerships formed by singles players. In Madrid, participation was reasonably good, with five top 15 individual rankings entered in the doubles bracket.
Coincidentally or not, the title ended up going to a player (Sebastian Korda) who clearly prioritizes the singles circuit and another (Jordan Thompson) who, although he has more achievements in doubles, currently has a better ranking as a simplist.
