‘Shake & bake’ prevails! Singles stars Korda/Thompson sweep to Madrid doubles title

Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson’s first week competing together on the doubles court ended in Mutua Madrid Open glory on Saturday afternoon in Spain.

The scratch team of singles stars defeated Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek 6-3, 7-6(7) to clinch the trophy at the ATP Masters 1000 event. After entering the draw using a spot reserved for singles players as part of a new doubles format being trialled in Madrid, Korda and Thompson dropped just one set across five matches en route to the title.

“We practised a tonne, and this was our first tournament together,” said Korda after winning his maiden tour-level doubles title. “It was a pretty good one, and [we will play] next week again in Rome. It was a lot of fun playing with Jordan this week and looking forward to next week.”

First attempt, first title 🏆⁰⁰@SebiKorda and @jordanthommmo2 lift the doubles trophy in their maiden appearance as a dream team 🔥@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/WIaOamTHMB

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 4, 2024

Thompson stepped on court sporting a cut above his left eye. After clinching a 77-minute victory alongside Korda, the Australian explained that the pair’s morning practice was to blame.

“He hit too good of a return and I just smoked myself in the head,” explained Thompson, who is now a six-time ATP Tour doubles champion. “I thought I was heading for the ER. It wasn’t that bad. A bit of a headache, but not bad. [The trophy] will help smooth things out.”

_{^{Jordan Thompson and Sebastian Korda in action on Saturday in Madrid. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

In singles, Korda and Thompson are No. 26 and No. 33, respectively, in the PIF ATP Rankings. It is the second consecutive year that the Madrid doubles trophy has been lifted by players more renowned for their singles prowess, after Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev won the title in 2023.

Korda and Thompson were ice cool under pressure beneath the Madrid sun to seal their win. They saved all six break points they faced against Behar and Pavlasek, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and Korda later revealed they had developed a fixed plan on serve at the start of their partnership.

“Our slogan at the beginning of the week was Shake & Bake,” said the American. “That’s kind of been our motto this whole week. It’s been working.”

Korda and Thompson clinched a decisive break in the fourth game on the way to winning the first set inside Manolo Santana Stadium. Also chasing their first ATP Tour crown as a team, Behar and Pavlasek raised their level in the second set but were crucially unable to convert their only set point at 7/6 in the tie-break.

_{^{Adam Pavlasek and Ariel Behar battled hard in their maiden ATP Masters 1000 final. Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}