Players, Journalists Reunite In Indian Wells For Media Doubles Showdown

The New York Times’ Ben Rothenberg joked that he should take some credit for Marcelo Melo’s finish atop the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings in 2015.

Last weekend, Rothenberg rejoined forces with the top-ranked doubles player, and confronted ATP Chief Player Officer Ross Hutchins and long-time tennis journalist Richard Evans for the second edition of the ATP World Tour Media Doubles Showdown.

Doubles stars and journalists teamed up on the practice courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, swapping partners as they competed for more than an hour under the direction of Wayne Bryan. In addition to Melo, journalists had the chance to play alongside John Peers, Fabrice Martin, Nicholas Monroe and coaches Daniel Vallverdu and Miles Maclagan. Colin Fleming also stopped by to watch the pro-am and spend time with the media.

Brandon Moglen of the Tennis Channel finished as a King of the Court last year on a team captained by Jean-Julien Rojer, and once again took first place as he and Maclagan defeated Cort Larson and Martin, 10-6, in the final. In the playoff for third place, Rothenberg and Hutchins defeated Rodrigo Azurmendi and Peers, 10-7.

“Having introduced this successfully last year, it was once again great to see the best doubles players in the world showcase their skills while interacting with the media in a different way than normal,” said ATP Chief Player Officer, Ross Hutchins. “I’m sure the media now further appreciates the skill it takes to be a successful doubles player and we look forward to having this event again in the future.”

ATP: Colin Fleming, Fabrice Martin, Marcelo Melo, Nicholas Monroe, John Peers; coaches Danny Vallverdu and Miles Maclagan; Ross Hutchins

Journalists: Brandon Moglen, Cort Larsen, Ben Rothenberg, Rodrigo Azurmendi, Andrej Antic, Ricky Dimon, Richard Evans, Jacque Fryklund, James LaRosa, Erwin Ong, Rene Stauffer, Kurt Streeter, Ros Satar, Kamakshi Tandon<