On the eve of the World Doubles Championships, we’ve decided to ask four different players for their predictions about who is going to win the three main categories. We asked World No.5 Benjamin Graenicher, U21 World Champion Hannah Boden and Live Draw host Alex Du Noyer. I also added my own predictions.
Men’s Doubles Predictions
Benjamin Graenicher: Cornelius Radermacher/Calum Reid
Calum is probably the best squash player in the field which is quite the advantage in doubles. Even though they have probably never played together, I think the individual class can overcome that. A very interesting match in the other half will be the possible second-round clash between Hougaard/Jaksland and Duyck/Busby. Duyck is very similar to my profile and I have had some quite close matches with the Danes
Boden: Morten Jaksland/Kresten Hougaard
Morten Jaksland and Kresten Hougaard could win the Men’s Doubles because they are used to playing with each other and are a solid partnership – which is a big advantage.
Alex Du Noyer: Cornelius Radermacher/Calum Reid
I’m going for Cornelius Radermacher and Calum Reid in the Men’s Doubles. The big threats to them are mostly in the top half of the draw and Radermacher also showed good form in Berlin.
Sam Barker: Morten Jaksland/Kresten Hougaard
After getting beaten in the first round in Berlin these two will come to the World Doubles Championships really feeling like they’ve got something to prove. As Hannah noted above, familiarity is a huge positive and just gives them the edge. Radermacher and Reid will be right up alongside them but we haven’t seen Reid play a lot of doubles in recent years so there’s a question mark there. I’m also keeping an eye on the dangerous pairs of Busby/Duyck and Genin/Junillon.
Women’s Doubles Predictions
Graenicher: Nicole Eisler/Zuzana Severinova
This category is heavily contested and my prediction is probably not the most obvious choice with Chrisi not having lost much in the last two years. It remains to be seen how well her shoulder will hold. But Zuzana has had two very good tournaments this year and Nicole has quite the experience. Honourable mention is for the superb badminton pair Jacobsen/de Bleeckere. They could upset Seehofer/Bugl in the first round.
Boden: Christine Seehofer/Bettina Bugl
Chrisi and Bettina will win the Women’s Doubles title because they are currently unbeaten – even though Zuzana and I pushed them to within a point in Prague.
Du Noyer: Christine Seehofer/Bettina Bugl
In the Ladies Doubles, I have Christine Seehofer and Bettina Bugl as the favourites. They’re in a tough half of the draw but I think they will come through. I do think that they will win both the semi-final and final by only five points or less though.
Barker: Christine Seehofer/Bettina Bugl
Bet against Christine Seehofer in the Women’s Doubles at your own peril. She’s going for a fifth straight title and is unbeaten alongside current partner Bettina Bugl. If any pair is to topple them they’re going to have to play the game of their lives.
Mixed Doubles Predictions
Graenicher: Zuzana Severinova/Morten Jaksland
Despite their loss against Reimer-Kern/Hougaard in Berlin, I still have JAksland/Severinova as a favourite. They will not again lose the first three sports in the potential semi-final clash. Winning any of the first three sports should be enough in a tennis set.
It will be very interesting to watch how the upper half plays out as I think Seehofer/Busby, Randjbar/Genin and Jacobsen/Radermacher are unbelievably close due to some profile mismatches. I think Dan and Chrisi will make it through though.
Boden: Christine Seehofer/Dan Busby
I think Chrisi and Dan will win the Mixed Doubles title because they are the most solid across all four sports. So I predict that the expected No.1 seeds will take it in all three categories, even though that’s a bit boring.
Du Noyer: Christine Seehofer/Dan Busby
In the Mixed Doubles, a load of new pairings make this tough to predict. I’ll go for Christine Seehofer and Dan Busby over Astrid Reimer-Kern and Kresten Hougaard in the final.
Barker: Astrid Reimer-Kern/Kresten Hougaard
I had the privilege of watching them play in Berlin a few weeks ago and they were simply spectacular. As finalists last year they’re desperate to go one better and I think they’ll manage it this year. Top seeds Seehofer and Busby, on paper, have the best chance to stop them and I’d be fascinated to see how that match plays out if it ends up being the final.
Who do you think will win the World Doubles Championship titles?
Read the tournament previews below:
Follow the World Doubles Championships on Facebook, Instagram and Racketlon.net.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
