You don’t have to look too hard in the doubles draws at the Brisbane International to find high-wattage star power.
Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov and Thanasi Kokkinakis have all signed up on the men’s side, while Aussie stars Sam Stosur, Casey Dellacqua and Ash Barty join top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza in the women’s draw.
Both draws were made Saturday afternoon following the singles draws.
Mattek-Sands and Mirza are the top seeds for the women, and could face a stiff test in No.2 seeds Ekaterina Makaraova and Elena Vesnina, who won Olympic gold in Rio and the season-ending WTA Finals in the latter half of 2016.
Doubles stalwarts Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut of France are the No.1 seeds on the men’s side, while defending doubles champions Henri Kontinen and Australian John Peers are seeded No.2.
Kontinen and Peers open against Nishikori and Thiem in what promises to be a must-see battle. Kokkinakis, meanwhile, will team up with fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson, while Sam Groth and Chris Guccione make up another all-Aussie team. While Barty and Dellacqua, three-time Grand Slam finalists, have paired up once again, Stosur is playing with good friend Zhang Shuai of China.
The 2008 Olympic doubles champion, Wawrinka, has enlisted rising French star Lucas Pouille as his partner, while Dimitrov and his teammate, doubles expert Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, take on Herbert and Mahut in round one.
Peers is actually looking for his third straight Brisbane crown, having won in 2015 alongside Jamie Murray. Daniel Nestor, who won in 2014 and 2012 with different partners, is seeded No.4 with Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Mirza is defending her own title in Queensland, though this time without partner Martina Hingis. She and Mattek-Sands won this title in 2013.