Doubles Pairs Propel Men's Tennis to Success

Good things have come in twos recently for the Harvard men’s tennis team. On Sunday, the team lost just two matches en route to a 5-2 victory over rival Yale. That win earned the Crimson at least a share of its second consecutive Ivy League title. And a big reason that No. 22 Harvard (17-4, 5-0 Ivy) is in a position to repeat as outright conference champions is the play of its dynamic duos.

The Crimson’s consistently strong doubles play has been essential to its 12-match winning streak. It is no accident that Harvard’s 12 straight victories perfectly coincide with its taking the crucial doubles point in 12 consecutive matches. Each of the team’s three regular doubles teams boasts a winning record in dual play, and the top tandem of junior co-captain Casey MacMaster and sophomore Denis Nguyen is ranked 52nd nationally.

“All you have to do to realize the importance of doubles is imagine what the result of all of those matches would be if we hadn’t won the doubles point,” head coach Dave Fish said. “It probably makes the difference between being ranked where we are now and being ranked 50th to 60th. If two equal teams are good enough to split the singles, then the doubles is the tiebreaker.”

In the team’s 12-match winning streak, five have been decided by a 4-3 margin, including two conference wins. Without strong doubles play, Harvard may not be two wins away from completing a perfect Ancient Eight slate and fighting for a higher seed in the NCAA tournament.

The team believes that winning the doubles point also gives it a strong mental edge, according to freshman Nicky Hu, who teams with senior co-captain Andy Nguyen on the No. 2 court.

“Winning the doubles point gives us the biggest mental boost heading into the singles matches,” he said. “If we win it, we only have to win half of the singles matches as opposed to four. Plus, everyone is less pressured to win their matches and so they can go out and just focus on playing their game.”

A DIFFERENT GAME

Because of the strategic benefits gained from successful doubles play, the team has placed an emphasis on improving that facet of its game. Hu credits the work of assistant coach Eric Butorac, who has been ranked as highly as 17th in the world in doubles, with the progress the team has made.

“He’s devised an effective doubles warm-up for us that’s different from our singles one,” Hu explained. “It involves anything we would see in a doubles match—crosscourt shots, close volleys, and from all different spots.”

Doubles requires a different set of physical skills than does singles, and the best singles players do not always make the best doubles players. MacMaster does not always start in singles, but has consistently been at the top in doubles.

“Doubles takes a completely different player,” MacMaster explained. “Singles is more of a baseline game with rallying, and you have to win points with groundstrokes. With doubles, it’s your serve, your return, and quick hands at the net. As a tall player, I don’t hit groundstrokes often in singles. I usually serve and volley, and that’s a skill that translates to doubles really well.”

Not only does doubles require a different set of physical skills, but it also takes a different mental approach.

“Doubles is just a different mindset,” Andy Nguyen said. “Singles is a bit slower paced, whereas doubles is really quick and intense. In singles, you have to manage your energy more so than in doubles.”

PERFECT PAIRINGS

Given the importance of doubles, finding pairings that work is imperative. The goal is to match players who have complementary physical skills, but it is often an inexact science.

“Sometimes I have ideas about pairings that I think will work, but it doesn’t work out or my players will disagree,” Fish said. “I don’t think any of us have all the answers.”

Hu agrees that it is largely a process of trial and error, and noted how he and Andy Nguyen came to play together.

“We didn’t start out as playing partners,” he recounted. “But then at [the ITA Northeast Regionals in October] they put us together and we had a big win over Dartmouth’s No. 1 team. From then on, it was clear we had some chemistry and the coaches decided to put us together for the year.”

Fish detailed some of the characteristics that can make pairings effective.

“It’s a lot like a volleyball team,” Fish explained. “There’s setters and then hitters. So Denis hits the ball very sharply, but then Casey has an enormous serve. Together, Denis plays bigger when backed up by Casey and Casey plays bigger because of Denis’ ability to place the ball. It’s a lovely combination.”

MacMaster echoed Fish’s sentiments about why he and Denis Nguyen are so successful.

“Denis has the angles and the power, and it helps me at the net to have consistent power behind me,” he said. “He really sets the point up for me to finish it off.”

But this setter-finisher dynamic is not the only way to be a strong tandem. Hu said he and Andy Nguyen’s success is attributable more to their consistency.

“What makes a good doubles team is a team who forces the opponent’s hand,” he argued. “If you put a lot of returns and first serves in, you’ll grind the other team down. It’s the biggest thing Andy and I are good at. Andy is great at the net and on returns. On my serve, it’s easy to win games because he’s very comfortable at net.”

PARTNER TRUST

But the fact that two players are physically complementary does not automatically equal success; a degree of mental compatibility and trust is crucial to success.

“Nicky and I have plays where I’ll tell him where he should serve and what I’m going to do,” Andy Nguyen explained. “He knows what I’ll do, and he reacts accordingly. It’s very instinctive, and there’s a flow and level of trust there. I know I can depend on him, and we can pump each other up when the other isn’t playing well.”

Confidence and trust, says Hu, are crucial to the success of doubles pairings, and that close relationship extends off the court.

“Getting along well makes a big difference,” Hu said. “Andy and I get along really well. Off the court, we hang out together sometimes. We relate because of our Asian heritage, and I help him with his Chinese homework sometimes. All of that plays into our chemistry.”

Others agree that such off-court rapport contributes to good chemistry come game time..

“All of the guys get along really well. If you don’t get along off the court, it’s really tough to have faith in your partner when you’re down a break point,” MacMaster noted. “You have to call where to serve and return, and you have to have the faith and trust that he will hit the right ball.”

According to Fish, the teamwork and relationships that doubles builds for the team has been key to the Crimson’s overall success.

“Doubles is a marvelous instrument for making your team better,” Fish said. “It teaches the guys the importance of how to support a teammate in a direct way, and brings out much more of their humanity. Our team dynamic is a very delicate spider web. If one guy is getting a foothold, he pulls everyone in that direction and makes our whole team more courageous and ultimately successful.”

—Staff writer Justin C. Wong can be reached at justinwong@college.harvard.