Doubles Only Tennis Podcast

Christian Harrison & Evan King Interviews at the 2025 Dallas Open

• Will Boucek • Episode 219

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0:00 | 14:58

This episode includes two post-match interviews with 2025 Dallas Open Champions, Christian Harrison and Evan King. They won six matches without dropping a set, resulting in new career-high ATP doubles rankings of 55 and 54.

They share the importance of teamwork, communication, and chemistry. We also discussed the effective return strategy that I believe helped lead them to the success they had in Dallas.

  • Importance of chemistry and their off-court friendship
  • Strategy of the two-back return formation and its execution
  • Impact of crowd support on their performance
  • Future goals and plans after their success in Dallas

I expect these two to continue climbing up the rankings and you'll hear from them again throughout the 2025 season.

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Speaker 1

Over the next several episodes you'll be hearing interviews from the 2025 Dallas Open. I was at the tournament all week last week with the Tennis Tribe rider, hanlon Walsh, and we interviewed a lot of the doubles players there in Dallas, including the eventual champions, christian Harrison and Evan King, and that is who you're about to hear from. So I caught up with them after their first round win over the two seeds, as well as their semi-final win over the three seeds, and Christian and Evan actually won six matches in Dallas because ATP 500s have two qualifying rounds, so they had to go through two qualifying rounds and then four main draw matches. They did not drop a single set. In fact, it wasn't until the finals that they even played a tiebreaker, which they won 7-6, 7-6.

Speaker 1

So in these two interviews they talk a little bit about what was working so well for them in Dallas. They talk about team chemistry, how they're good friends off the court and how that helps them on the court. We also talk a little bit about strategy, especially the two back return formation, which I found they executed really, really well all week. They were able to move forward at the right moments where, with a lot of teams that I see play two back. They tend to stay back at the baseline and they don't take opportunities to get forward, but Christian and Evan did a great job of that. So you'll get to know these two players. They're at career high rankings of 55 and 54 in the world and I think they're going to continue to climb the rankings throughout the year because they're playing a very, very high level of doubles.

Speaker 1

So, again, you're going to hear two separate post-match interviews here. I'll chime in in between so that you know when we're transitioning from one to the next. But without further delay, enjoy this first post-match interview. After their first round win over the two seeds from Christian Harrison and Evan King. So y'all just won technically your third match here in Dallas. Do you feel like getting through qualifying helped in this first round, since they hadn't played an actual match yet?

Speaker 2

Yeah, I think it 100% helped. It's one of those dangerous things where obviously we wish we would have been in main draw automatically, but having had those two matches, getting some points, getting the competitive repetitions, has been great for us and we were able to come out pretty hot out here today, I think.

Speaker 1

What did you make of the match today? You were kind of even in the first set, then you had a break late and then down a break in the second set to come back, what were your thoughts about kind of the ebbs and flows of it?

Speaker 3

We were doing a good job taking care of our serves. And then you know the few looks we had early. You know they came out with some stuff so we didn't get a break early. But we felt like we had chances. And then we felt a little confident because we held serve in some tight spots and then we kind of made the adjustments to not keep getting in those spots and then I just felt like as we started playing the match, we just both started working with each other's games a lot better.

Speaker 3

We're starting to play a lot more evidently so. I think every match is just really fun and exciting for us because we're having a good time and we're just excited to be playing together and sharing victories together like this is really special. Evan's a good friend and it really means a lot to both of us right now.

Speaker 1

Awesome. So y'all are the first uh players that I've talked to. I haven't heard anything about the courts yet. What do you? How do you feel like the courts play? Um, how do you feel like it suits your game?

Speaker 2

I mean shoot, we're one, three matches man.

Speaker 2

I gotta say you like them, man, like I think overall the event's pretty sweet. Like I'm not a Cowboys fan I I'm from Chicago, I'm a Bears fan Just being in this facility, seeing their practice facility and how they've been able to dumb up the stadium, it feels like a decent amount of people are coming out watching the matches. It's Tuesday, I don't know what day Tuesday. Yeah, it's Tuesday, midday there's still a decent amount of people out here. I think it's pretty sweet. I'm enjoying the time spent.

Speaker 3

This is really his first class in the event. Yeah, by far one of the better events I've played, and so, yeah, I've had a good time here Awesome and talk a little bit about the partnership.

Speaker 1

I know this is his third tournament this year. I believe Third or fourth, fifth, overall, which is crazy.

Speaker 3

Third or fourth, fifth overall, which is crazy because I've known him pretty much my whole life and we've never been able to play together. But I've been pushing for it for a little bit and finally broke him down and yes, we're excited to get him.

Speaker 2

I think it's great for us. It's a mutual respect. I think he's a hell of a player. I think he respects my game as well. And then we played two tournaments at the end of last year. We got to the finals, so it kind of clicked like easy. And yeah, like you said, it's great playing with a good friend. It's kind of relaxing.

Speaker 1

And then the tennis has taken care of itself a little bit Awesome. Is it something that you'll have like kind of a set schedule for the rest of the year? You're just going to kind of see how it goes. Obviously, strung together some wins now here in Dallas.

Speaker 3

Obviously, we definitely have our goals that we would like to go as a team. You know we're set for the foreseeable future for the next little string of tournaments. And then you know we started playing together with the idea that we're ranked pretty much in the same spots and that, you know, we felt like we were both, you know back to each other's games and we wanted to work hard to try to move up the rankings together. So we kind of set out with that plan, but right now we're going step by step together.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Any plans for? I assume tomorrow will be an off day for you all. I think so. Any plans for the off day?

Speaker 2

Relax, hit a couple balls, maybe watch a little bit of tennis, but yeah, just let the body and the mind recover and then lock back in for whoever I play the next day.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Thanks, guys, Appreciate the time. So next you'll hear the interview after their semifinal win over the Three Seeds to reach the ATP 500 Dallas final. All right, guys. So y'all are into the Dallas Open final. Before I get into details about the match, just how are y'all feeling? This is the biggest result of your careers new high rankings, probably after this week. How are y'all feeling?

Speaker 3

Feeling excited, you know, excited for tomorrow, but mainly just because I feel like we're building a lot of confidence together as a team and so it's going to be an exciting match tomorrow and I'm happy that we're going to get to play and enjoy a good final the same exact thing.

Speaker 2

I'm pumped up. I mean, this guy's been to tour final before. I've never been to a tour final, so this is going to be a fun experience for me. Again, happy to share that with Christian having a good time out there.

Speaker 1

And yeah, I'm just pumped up, man. Um, so we were just talking about the results this week. Uh, y'all have not dropped a set. You haven't even gone to a tiebreaker, which I was talking with somebody the other day about just how small the margins are in atp doubles. Um, so to be able to do that is super impressive. Uh, what do you feel like specifically is working so well this week? And I know you've had to go through qualifying as well, so you're through five matches without dropping a set, so really impressive.

Speaker 3

I just feel like we understand each other's games really well, especially the more we're getting to play together, and then especially the communication with. I feel like we're making just the adjustments, sometimes mid-match a little bit sooner, rather than waiting a couple games to like talk about it, which sometimes if you're not familiar with your partner in doubles, you're not like comfortable speaking those things. And then I feel like we're comfortable telling each other, no, we don't like something or yes, we like something. You know, it's just communication to make little adjustments when we need them Can you share an example.

Speaker 3

There, make little adjustments when we need. Can you share an example? Uh, there's not. There's not too many examples I would say like I want to just share, but it could just be like simple, like hey, you're using this too much. Or use this shot more. This is I got, like this, this is if I'm planning on. We need to do this, let's try to implement that and vice versa.

Speaker 1

But yeah, um, talk a little bit about the, the two back formation when you're returning. Y'all are using a lot of that this week. Is that something that you make adjustments based on the court surface or the opponent? How do you decide when you're going to do that and what are some of the benefits of doing that?

Speaker 2

I think in general, that's a very big benefit of us two as a partnership. We both have pretty good ground strokes. We both come from playing a lot of singles type background, so I think we have the versatility on if we can hit a pretty good return, like I mean, as you know, in doubles, like dudes are just like boom, boom and then like the point's kind of over he's a athlete, I'm an okay athlete we can like figure out how to get probably a couple more shots back. Yeah, especially if it's two good batters like that.

Speaker 2

Yeah, like if we give them a target, they're just like boom, hit you in the feet. He got hit, I think, twice today. That gives them kind of a target and then, if not, like there's not a weak spot on our ground, strokes where they can kind of go to, and then we just back ourselves honestly in a two up versus two back type situation. So yeah, I mean I have no idea what tomorrow's going to look like. Maybe we play one up, one back all the time, maybe we play two back all the time, but that's just like the benefit of having a person who can play the net, the baseline, all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 4

You had a massive return, I think. In the second set you guys were up 4-2. It was a deuce point and you just ripped it forehand. What do you tell yourself on those kind of deciding points before you know the return?

Speaker 2

it's just be aggressive and play to win, like I'm gonna have to go to sleep tonight, win or lose, and I don't want to go to sleep being like, ah man, I didn't fully trust myself or I didn't go after this moment, or something like that. So I would just like see ball hit ball, like it's very simple, but it's just. I don't know If I would have hit that into this like fence, I could have laughed it off and be like, wow, I was aggressive. I have the good mentality like that kind of thing. So that was kind of the mindset on it in general.

Speaker 4

What about from a scheduling standpoint? You guys are hovering around the top 60. Now how does that impact your schedule for the next couple weeks and which tournaments you're able to play? I think?

Speaker 3

it'll impact it going forward, but I think it's something that we've been striving for, so I think it's something that will give us more confidence. We'll probably sit down and look at it after the tournament, but my goal, and I think our goal as a team, is to try to get into the tournaments, the bigger tournaments together. We've both been playing doubles a little bit. When you're mixing and matching, trying to get in tournaments, sometimes it's difficult to get that chemistry but honestly I haven't really looked at it like the exact rankings, but you do know in your mind that you're getting points and that it's going to free you up to start getting into more tournaments, which honestly, that takes a big stress load off of yourself. That hopefully gives you the confidence to keep doing what you're doing.

Speaker 1

Awesome. I got one more question, so the crowd was really good in this match, probably maybe the best all week that y'all have played in front of. Talk a little bit about that. And then also, what can we do to get more crowds like that for the doubles courts?

Speaker 2

That's a loaded question. Can I say something?

Speaker 1

Yeah, I was going to say.

Speaker 3

I personally. I mean it's like you're here, you know you meet a lot of people just when you're walking around. Most recreational people they play. You know they play doubles, you know that's what they play more of. I just think it's just if they see it and understand the players and get familiar with it, you know people will come out and watch, and sometimes it's marketing, but then sometimes it's just yeah, just the scheduling, the matches, that that they kind of know, hey, this is supposed to be a good match. So then if people already go in thinking that, then they watch with more intent as opposed to like, hey, this is just kind of like a match just to fill the time that they don't really yeah but, what it's like for me.

Speaker 3

I'm like, if you can get pickleball like to be watching and people into it as much as they can, because of how they promote it, because people play it.

Speaker 3

You know so many people play it and it's so much fun and more players are like more of the older adults, which is the tennis community. They're all older, you know. They're playing doubles. They're not playing two out of three singles, you know. So I think it's just a promotion to some degree, but that's something that you know. I think everybody's trying to work hard on it. Nobody really has the right answers, but yeah, it's something that hopefully people enjoy.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I mean it certainly worked out today. That crowd was loving the points and it was a good-sized crowd yeah no, it was awesome today.

Speaker 3

Awesome Thanks, man.

Speaker 1

Thanks guys, Good luck tomorrow.

Speaker 3

Thanks man.

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you guys, good luck tomorrow.