Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul's Madrid doubles match entertained and baffled fans

With the Paris Olympics on Roland Garros clay right around the corner, tennis fans can expect to see singles players pairing up for doubles. The latest example is the intriguing pairing of Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul for the Mutua Madrid Open. Medvedev admits to not being as big of a fan of playing doubles as he is in watching them, but Olympic preparations prevail.

This is a match made in heaven in terms of charismatic pesonalities on the tennis court. How would their playing styles mesh on court?

Fans had a variety of comments for what they saw from Medvedev and Paul who bowed out in the first round in a tough match against the 12th seeded Italian team of Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli.

What fans said about the Daniil Medvedev and Tommy Paul doubles team

The words "confusing ballet" and running like "headless chickens" were used to describe the Medvedev and Paul's doubles team's court coverage.

Medvedev is known for his deep defensive positioning on his opponent's serve. Many times he is practically hiting the backstop of the court. Fans wondered if he would modify that strategy in doubles which tends to involve rallies that are at the baseline and more often closer to net. Medvedev stuck with his singles strategy.

Though they did not win a match, the team was well-received by fans. One fan claimed the pair could "negotiate the end of the war in 10 minutes."

Jamie Murray recently said that the way competitive tennis is these days, he could see doubles going extinct. Doubles are challenging in terms of scheduling and participation for singles players, but we hope Murray is wrong. Singles players train their whole lives to cover the court by themselves so it is fun and interesting to see them adjust to playing with a partner.

Medvedev told Prakash Amritraj of the Tennis Channel that he does not have time to practice doubles so playing doubles in these clay court events this spring is the best solution. He had difficulty finding a partner so he was happy that Tommy Paul was available. Medvedev felt that he left Paul down with his play in the second set tiebreaker of their match but vows to do better the next time. Let's hope we see another doubles draw this spring with this pairing.

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