Doubles remains the poor cousin on the ATP Tour yet it can produce some exceptional tennis as the Heineken Open final showed.
The rule change about which some players, particularly those who make the lion's share of their income from doubles, continue to express doubts, have made for
all-action tennis.
The first set of Saturday's final was over in 29 minutes as unseeded Luis Horna (Peru) and Juan Monaco (Argentina) raced home 6-4 over the also unseeded Xavier Malisse (Belgium) and Jurgen Melzer (Austria) after left-hander Melzer was broken in the first game, Monaco in the sixth and Melzer again in the ninth.
The only break of serve in the second set came in the eighth game when Monaco fought back from 15-40 to deuce but dropped the next point and, under the new rules, the game and eventually the set as Malisse continued to rule the court by serving it out.
Like Horna, Malisse went through the match without dropping serve.
The new 10-point tiebreak decider was dominated early by the Europeans who led 3-1, 5-3 and 6-4 before the South Americans rallied, got back to 6-6 before winning four of the next five points and the tiebreak 10-7 and the match 6-4 3-6 10-7.
It was all over in just 67 minutes.
In scheduling the doubles as the curtainraiser to the singles, organisers got it right. They ensured the final was played in an almost full ASB Tennis Centre. The crowd got their money's worth from an entertaining match.
"It has been a great first tournament of the year for me," said Horna who claimed his fourth doubles title in eight finals. "It was a pretty hard match and I have to thank Juan [Monaco] for helping me."
