ATP Doubles Tennis: Marc and Feliciano Lopez

In honor of their victory in doubles at the French Open over the Bryan Brothers, I’ll take a quick look at the ATP doubles careers of the non-related “Lopez twins,” also known as Feliciano and Marc Lopez.

As with the majority of top-ranked doubles players, both players are in their 30s.  Marc Lopez, 32, has been to three Grand Slam doubles finals.  Obviously, he won the French Open.  He had, however, been to both the French Open and U.S. Open final in 2014.   There, he partnered with fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers and finished as runner-up both times. He won the ATp World Tour finals in 2012 and won one ATP Masters 1000 title with Granollers.  He also won two ATP Masters 1000 titles with Rafael Nadal.

Feliciano Lopez, 34, also won his first Grand Slam doubles title in May at the French Open. Interestingly, throughout his career, he has had much more singles success than doubles success. He also has had much less doubles success than his partner Marc Lopez, having never been to a Grand Slam final before and having only ever been to one ATP Masters 1000 final, which was back in 2014 in Rome where he partnered with Robin Haase.

As a duo, Lopez and Lopez teamed up at the start of the 2016 ATP season and found quick success, winning in Qatar and finishing as runner-up in Dubai. Their title at the French Open shows how strange teams can mesh really well if they get hot.  Can they succeed at Wimbledon?  It’s possible but, given how variable doubles tennis is, it’s a good bet another team will surprise somewhat and make a run much the way Lopez and Lopez did in France.

Next: Milos Raonic and John McEnroe: A Good Idea?

I will probably preview one or two more teams before Wimbledon starts up next week, so be sure to stay tuned for that and for previews of the draws at Wimbledon.