The Indian Wells-Miami double, the ability to win back-to-back titles in the Californian desert and in Florida, has been achieved by only 7 men and 2 women in tennis’ history. It has to be considered one of the hardest possible achievements in tennis, considering how the two tournaments run for a total of 4 weeks, with 6 or 7 matches to be won consecutively for each event, depending on the player’s status, being seeded or not. It is as close of a feat as winning two consecutive Grand Slam titles in the same month.
Here are the players who achieved the feat in history:
Men (10 times in total)
1991 – Jim Courier
1992 – Michael Chang
1994 – Pete Sampras
1998 – Marcelo Rios
2001 – Andre Agassi
2005, 2006 – Roger Federer
2011, 2014, 2015 – Novak Djokovic
Women (3 times in total)
1994, 1996 – Steffi Graf
2005 – Kim Clijsters
As these numbers show, only twice in tennis’ history it has happened that in the same year an Indian Wells-Miami double has been achieved both on the men’s and women’s side. The first time it was in 1994, when Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf won both titles back-to-back at the same time. The second time has happened exactly 11 years ago, when a returning Kim Clijsters won in California and in Florida consecutively, all while Roger Federer continued his domination over tennis achieving the double at the same time.
Can Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka succeed to Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters?
After a convincing performance in the first round for both Indian Wells winners, it seems there is a strong chance in Miami history could be made yet again next week. Clearly the player with the highest chance of competing the Indian Wells-Miami double for a record 4th time is Novak Djokovic. The Serb started his Indian Wells campaign a little rusty, but has managed to win the title increasing his level as the tournament progressed. Considering how Roger Federer is out of the picture, Rafael Nadal has shown progresses but keeps on losing to the Serb and that both of Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka aren’t exactly shining in form at the moment, it is hard to predict the Serb could be stopped.
Novak started his campaign in Miami with a straight-set win over British promise Kyle Edmund (6-3 6-3).
On the women’s side a lot will depend on Serena Williams, who is chasing a 9th crown in Miami. The American has lost to Azarenka in the final of Indian Wells, not really looking sharp. Victoria has meanwhile climbed back in the top 10 showcasing the tennis abilities that have brought her atop of the women’s rankings just four years ago. Clearly the Belarusian has a shot at achieving the feat and follow the win in California with a third career triumph in Miami.
Vika has started her Miami campaign dominating in straight sets Monica Puig by 6-2 6-4, showing she has no intention of following the win at the BNP Paribas Open with a moment of lack of focus. Victoria is back after many injuries and she has no intention of letting her good form go to waste.
When Clijsters and Federer completed the Indian Wells-Miami double in 2005 they ended up dominating the great majority of the rest of the season, with Roger winning titles at Wimbledon and the US Open and Kim outplaying her competition in the American summer, going on to win her first major title at the US Open.
Clearly, if Novak and Victoria will complete the feat, we will have a better idea of what to expect for the rest of the season on hard courts.
