Henri Kontinen and John Peers head into this week’s Miami Open presented by Itaú in uncharted territory. They are the top seeds at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for the first time and, for Kontinen, an added incentive looms.
The 26 year old stands to become the first World No. 1 from Finland in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings should he and Peers push deep and other results fall their way. The Australian Open champions stand to make up big ground having fallen in the opening round last year (l. to Cilic/Draganja).
Kontinen will ascend to the individual doubles top spot unless he and Peers and defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut fail to reach the semi-finals, and either Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan reach the final and Kontinen and Peers lose in the opening round. The Finn would also be denied should he and Peers bow out in the semi-finals and the Bryans go on to win the title.
The Finnish/Austraian pair opens against Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, while four-time champions, the Bryans, begin their campaign against Fabrice Martin and Marcin Matkowski. The Americans – despite having not won a ATP World Tour title since last May’s ATP Masters 1000 Rome – are still a shot at reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking. They could meet eighth-seeded Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in the quarter-finals before a potential semi-final clash in a rematch of the Australian Open final against Kontinen/Peers.
NO. 1 DOUBLES SCENARIOS: BATTLE FOR TOP SPOT
| PLAYER(S): | SCENARIOS |
| 1) Henri Kontinen | Becomes No. 1 unless the following occurs: |
| Herbert/Mahut win and Kontinen/Peers do not reach SFs | |
| Bryans reach final & Kontinen/Peers lose in R32 | |
| Bryans win title and Kontinen/Peers do not reach final | |
| 2) Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan | Become tied at No. 1 if the following occurs: |
| Bryans reach final and Kontinen/Peers lose in R32; Herbert/Mahut do not win | |
| Bryans win title | |
| 3) Nicolas Mahut | Becomes No. 1 if the following occurs: |
| Herbert/Mahut win title and Kontinen/Peers do not reach SFs |
Second-seeded Herbert/Mahut take on Brit Dominic Inglot and Romanian Florin Mergea first up with a tricky potential quarter-final match-up against BNP Paribas Open champions, fifth seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram, on the cards. Brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev meet Austrian Dominic Thiem and Serbian veteran Nenad Zimonjic, with the winner likely to meet Klaasen and Ram in the second round.
Fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares tackle last year’s Wimbledon runners-up Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi at the first hurdle with a quarter-final clash against sixth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo projected. Kubot and Melo will need to defeat the scratch pairing of 39-year-old Tommy Haas and Lucas Pouille in the opening round.