Tennis players all over the world have the grand slams to savor. Two weeks of watching ridiculously good tennis, four times a year.

In Hawai'i, we have night doubles. Two weeks of the best tennis in the islands, with food, drinks and free admission, all under the comfort of the lights at Kailua Racquet Club.

The 37th Blue Moon Men's Night Doubles begins tonight with qualifying round matches. The main draw starts next Sunday. Last year's finalists — Minh Le and Wei-Yu Su, and Mikael Maatta and Jan Axel Tribler — are again entered.

"It's the biggest tournament in Hawai'i. Nothing comes close basically," Tribler said. "We have other tournaments, but we don't have people showing up. There's not as much money either. It's way different."

Tribler, 26, grew up in Denmark, just outside Copenhagen. Looking for adventure, he came here "for one year" in 1999, choosing Hawai'i Pacific over a school in South Carolina because "Hawai'i sounded better."

Reality was even better. He became an HPU All-American and, in 2002, played doubles with Maatta, now 28. Tribler kept pushing back his plan to stay "one year," first so he could graduate, then get a master's and a job (he and Maatta, from Sweden, are financial advisors for John Hancock).

Until last year, they hadn't played doubles together since college. It was tough to tell. They won Hawai'i Sectionals to earn a slot in the USTA Pro Tour's Honolulu Futures, then carved up a bunch of teams in Kailua, until they met Le and Su.

Their style is distinctly different than most doubles teams, who mostly hit hard or harder. Maatta and Tribler rarely offer up pace, preferring to dink and drop, lob and hit imaginative angles. They make folks crazy.

"Even in singles we stay back more," Tribler said. "We have decent returns and a lot of people, when the match starts, think it will be easy. But we find a way to make their game look worse. We're not going for winners, we're trying to make them miss. We frustrate a lot of people."

They reached their first final together last year despite being seeded fifth. Tribler also reached the final in 2001, with current HPU coach Stefan Pampulov. They lost in five sets. Tribler figures the third time could be the charm.

"We know each other extremely well," Tribler said of teaming with Maatta. "We played a little in college. We're thinking the same way when we play doubles. A lot of teams are power teams and go full speed. We have a little more timing and a little more strategy. We don't have the power game, it's more thinking. In that sense, we fit very well. I always know what he's thinking."

He must, because this team — like most who play Night Doubles — has precious little time to practice. Night Tennis teams might not be the Bryan brothers, but somehow, during these two weeks, all look awfully good.

Maybe it's because of the crowds. All the fans are not always attentive — there are too many distractions — but they are always there.

"People actually show up to watch," Tribler said. "It's much more fun to play when someone is watching. It's not like other tournaments where it's just wives and girl friends. It's also different because it's at night.

"It's just a great atmosphere out there. Even though all of them don't necessarily come to watch the tennis — they come to eat and drink and have fun — it's really exciting."

Some of this year's proceeds will support Boys and Girls Club Hawai'i, Windward Clubhouse.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.