Luke Jensen could not come up with a doubles pair more different than Emily Harman and CC Sardinha.

Their style of play, their mentalities, their behavior and their hometowns all contrast. They contrast so much that Jensen, the Syracuse tennis coach, did not think to pair them together until 16 weeks into the season. Even if they are two of SU’s best players.

‘It really wasn’t close to even on our radar,’ Jensen said. ‘You just couldn’t get further apart, and as the season rolled around we just kept on mixing and matching and throwing in different combos and when we got to it, it clicked from the start. Their games absolutely came together.’

Since then, the pair has not lost in seven games.

Harman and Sardinha have melded their opposing styles of play to create a balanced doubles team. As their chemistry improved, so did their dominance. Twice in their last three matches they have defeated their opponents 8-0.

‘Our games complement each other, and that goes along with the chemistry as well,’ Harman said. ‘We know where we’re going without even telling. That’s what makes a good doubles team, and I think it’s progressed really nicely.’

The connection they have formed over the three weeks is partly due to playing together in practice. Spending time on the court together, they have learned where to expect one another. They now know that there will usually be someone there to back them up.

But a good deal of their success as a doubles pair has come from the tutelage of Jensen, who won the doubles of the French Open with his brother in 1993.

Jensen’s experience has made him not only a great coach but a doubles authority. He knows exactly how players need to position themselves to cover as much of the court as possible, especially given the opponents’ formations.

He is coaching the doubles teams to play like pros, whether it means trying a lefty serve or spending more time at net than usual. Doubles is where Jensen is most comfortable, and therefore, most effective as a coach.

He believes that opposites are often successful on the doubles court because they can play off each other. Harman and Sardinha play directly into this theory.

‘I’m the more consistent player that works better at the baseline for returns,’ Sardinha said. ‘And she’s the net player who can put the points away.

The effectiveness of the pair is important because the doubles point sets the tone for the rest of the team match. The doubles matches are played before the singles so they are a warm-up for the players. A win can put them in a great position for their individual matches, but a loss can slow them down.

Sardinha appreciates the opportunity to face her opponent before the singles because she can hear what Harman thinks of the opponent as well. Given their opposite tendencies on the court, they are likely to analyze a player differently, so they get twice the information from one match.

These distinctly different styles of play have earned Harman and Sardinha the nicknames Batman and Robin. Jensen affectionately calls them his superheroes because they are both forces on the court, Sardinha playing the No. 1 singles spot and Harman playing No. 2.

Harman fills her role as the more experienced player, with the more volatile style of play, and Sardinha does so through her consistent performance.

‘Harman’s Batman,’ Jensen said. ‘Harman’s the one that’s up front and CC’s Robin. CC’s still the freshman, still doesn’t know where all the buildings are, doesn’t know if it’s pronounced Seh-ton Hall or Seton Hall. All these things, where Batman just shakes her head.’

alguggen@syr.edu