Although the Wisconsin men’s tennis team is nearing the end of a trying conference season, the play of the doubles team has shown great upside for a team that has struggled to stay consistent.

Led by the No. 1 doubles pair of junior captain Billy Bertha and sophomore Fredrik Ask, Wisconsin has clinched the doubles point in seven of 13 matches this season. The duo recently broke into the top 30 in the national rankings with recent wins over Purdue and Indiana.

An injury sustained by Bertha kept him off the court for two weeks earlier in the season, but the time away from Ask didn’t seem to diminish the twosome’s chances of flourishing as the Badgers’ top team.

“We’ve been playing together this whole semester; we have pretty good chemistry built up, so that helped,” Bertha said. “We were able to get it together in the big points when it really mattered (against Purdue and Indiana).”

The tandem possesses a 10-4 record this season, boasting marquee wins over the nation’s No. 2 ranked team of Kevin King and Juan Spir of Georgia Tech and Michigan’s No. 15 tandem of Evan King and Shaun Bernstein.

Head coach Greg Van Emburgh believes that his top doubles team has a shot to participate in the NCAA tournament coming off another victory over a ranked opponent, especially with the return of his captain.

“Billy’s been playing really good in doubles,” Van Emburgh said. “I think he’s volleying really well, and he’s able to utilize his serve more, and I think they (Ask and Bertha) complement each other really well.”

The experience of Van Emburgh has been a major contributor to the success of the doubles teams. As a former professional tennis player who achieved a top-40 world ranking and six career doubles titles, Van Emburgh has offered his team a direct insight into how to prevail in the two-on-two game.

“Doubles is kind of a unique art that’s a little bit lost, especially in juniors and in college,” Van Emburgh said. “It’s vital for the success of your program; if you can win that doubles point, then all you’ve got to do is go in even and split three of those six singles points and you’re going to win the match.”

It only accounts for one of the seven total points, but the doubles point can boost a team’s mentality by jumping to an early lead, especially with a sport as mentally involving as tennis.

Although Van Emburgh has stressed the importance of earning the doubles point, Wisconsin has failed to do so as of late, dropping four of the last five opening marks. But those four defeats came to ranked opponents, including No. 3 Ohio State.

In response to the recent woes of the doubles play, and partially due to Bertha’s injury earlier this month, the doubles lineup has seen a multitude of looks. The steady pair of junior Alexander Kostanov and sophomore Petr Satral was divided after losing four of five matches, one being at the No. 1 slot in a tough battle with one of the country’s most dynamic duos in Blaz Rola and Chase Buchanan of Ohio State.

The tandem sustained an impressive stretch in which it conquered nine of its 11 opponents earlier in the season. As the team plowed deeper into Big Ten schedule, victories became more difficult to come by.

Satral admits that facing a string of dangerous opponents poses a daunting challenge, but he attributes the recent struggles to a lost spark.

“It was probably a good decision to try to change doubles,” Satral said. “We probably played with more emotions, so we were more pumped up than the last five matches.”

An additional change to the doubles roster was the coupling of Ask and sophomore Rod Carey. The two teamed up to win three of the four matches played together, including victories over demanding foes in Northwestern and Illinois.

Carey’s standard partner, sophomore Alex Robles, was matched with Kostanov in the latest loss to Indiana. Robles has also shared doubles duties with five players this year including Carey.

Alterations to the lineup can allow coaches to observe different combinations of players with styles of play. On the other hand, it can disrupt the flow that a pair has built up during the course of the season.

Van Emburgh understands that being flexible with the doubles lineup can allow players to potentially emerge as successful doubles combinations.

“Maybe it’s a new day and a new team, and maybe they’re really complementing each other well and communicating really well, and that’s the importance of doubles,” Van Emburgh said. “We’re going to look at some options tomorrow and Thursday and try to make a solid decision for Friday’s match.”