Christian Harrison & Evan King Interviews at the 2025 Dallas Open

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.

• Follow Christian Harrison on Instagram
• Follow Evan King on Instagram
• Follow the Dallas Open on Instagram

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Transcript

Speaker 1 1:16

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 2:11

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 3:04

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 3:37

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 3:55

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 4:07

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 4:34

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 4:49

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 5:00

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

Speaker 2 5:03

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 5:31

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 5:40

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

Speaker 3 5:48

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 5:59

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 6:19

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 6:33

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 6:54

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 7:01

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 7:11

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 7:41

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 7:55

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 8:11

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 8:39

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 9:09

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 9:22

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 9:41

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 10:17

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 10:50

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 10:59

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 11:25

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 11:35

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 12:14

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 12:34

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

Speaker 1 12:38

Yeah , I was going to say .

Speaker 3 12:39

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 13:14

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 13:21

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 13:45

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 13:56

Awesome Thanks , man .

Speaker 1 13:57

Thanks guys , Good luck tomorrow .

Speaker 3 13:59

Thanks man .

Speaker 4 13:59

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