The doubles dating game: Finding a perfect partner

There’s an element of the dating game in the search for the perfect doubles match. Less swiping left or right, admittedly, than the ability to swat groundstrokes off both sides, but chemistry is still critical and opposites often do attract.

The world’s No.1 ranked men’s pair, Australian John Peers and Finn Henri Kontinen, made a commitment to join forces late in 2015, after Peers and Jamie Murray agreed to disband the duo that had reached two grand slam finals, and Kontinen split with Treat Huey.

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It started with a text message at the end of the Asian swing, continued with a meeting in Basel, and was consummated with a title in their first tournament together, the Brisbane International, to start 2016. As Peers explains it, something felt right even from the pair’s early days, when Kontinen left the minus-20-degree depths of the freezing Helsinki winter to prepare in scorching 40-plus Perth.

And promptly hit the heat wall. “You go through different things off the court together which also help you on the court,” says Peers, laughing at the memory.

Within 13 months, the pair had shared their maiden grand slam title at Melbourne Park, beating the Bryan brothers in the final. They’ve since reached at least the quarters of their next 13 events, other than an upset first round loss at the French Open. Semis at Wimbledon; the title in Washington. Now, for the men ranked 1st and second individually, comes the top seeding at the US Open.

If many elements contribute to a successful partnership, then Peers believes the simple ability to get along is paramount, with friendship and camaraderie essential to navigating the many hours spent together and managing the inevitable peaks and troughs. He and Kontinen shared similar goals and ambitions, “and also the way we wanted to go about things, which was the most important thing for me”, says Peers.

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There are also differences, though, on-court and off. While the 29-year-old is a new husband and father, Kontinen’s reputation as something of a party animal precedes the flamboyant 27-year-old – which means that, often these days, so does the Peers’ family dinner time.

“Personality-wise, Henri’s a lot more relaxed and free-flowing, more light-hearted, and always joking around, and I’m probably a lot more serious. But we’ve been able to find a really good balance that I think has helped us both,” says Peers. “We just understand each other’s game, and the fact that each one of us on a given day can turn it on. We compliment each other really well.”

And the dating element? “You can put it a bit in those terms, but at the end of the day you know which ones you gel with best and which ones you don’t on the court. Because first and foremost that is where you’re gonna see the results. Your game styles have to match up and you’ve got to be able to do well together.

“Then, secondly, you’ve got to be able to get along with the person cos you spend so much time with each other. We’re only out here playing this game for a short amount of time. Why not try and have fun while you do it?”