ATP Tour

Flying planes & beanbags by Federer's locker: Meet breakthrough doubles stars Carpico & Filin

The story of the US Open doubles tournament has been the breakout of Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin, two Ohio State University standouts who have proven they can compete with the best doubles teams in the world.

The pair’s combined PIF ATP Doubles Ranking is 1,842 (Filin is No. 739 and Carpico is No. 1,103), but that has not stopped them from stunning recent Montreal and Cincinnati champions Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos, before eliminating former World No. 1 Marcelo Melo and former World No. 2 John Peers.

“I think we both don't see it ending here. I think we both know that we're capable of making a really, really deep run in the tournament,” Carpico said. “I think that we both know that while we've played well in these first two matches, we've got another gear that we could still get to. I think that the confidence is really high. I think it's two hard-fought wins, but both of us know that we can still play a little better and clean things up. And if we do that, then what's to say we couldn't keep going?”

Carpico and Filin are proving themselves on the court, but the 2025 NCAA Doubles Championship finalists are quite interesting off the court, too.

Filin explained that they began school for the fall semester nearly two weeks ago. It was syllabus week when they were on campus, but he is sure things are picking up academically. The 20-year-old said he has a couple of exams on the 15th, “so I'm going to lock in when I get back, but it's been good”.

“My school is always tough, so…” Carpico chimed in.

“Yeah, he's a pilot! He has his license,” Filin said. “He can fly us back if we want to catch a class and then come back tomorrow.”

Carpico said that he is majoring in Aviation Air Transportation, so a reporter asked if he wants to become a pilot.

“It’s not want,” Filin, who is majoring in Sports Industry and minoring in Business, jumped in. “He is one!”

“An airline pilot. That’s the end-all goal,” Carpico added.

Although the 21-year-old Carpico did not compete nationally until later in his junior years, Filin played indoor nationals for the best 12-year-olds in the country, an event that was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open.

“I remember playing this guy Adhithya Ganesan. He plays at Florida, I got killed by him on one of those courts,” Filin said. “But I've been to a lot of camps here on the indoor [courts] and probably when I was 10, 11, 12, I had pictures in the locker room, sitting on the beanbags. They don't have [them] anymore, but they did.

“[Have] a picture with Roger’s locker, but yeah, just being around here, I always dreamt of playing here, and it's definitely helped just at a young age, probably just being used to this environment in those camps, and just all the development.”

Carpico and Filin will next take the court in New York for a place in the US Open quarter-finals when they face three-time tournament winners Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.