Austrian Jurgen Melzer and Croatian Franko Skugor had never played together before arriving at the Grand Prix Hassan II. But they won the title on Saturday, defeating Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop and Dane Frederik Nielsen 6-4, 7-6(6) to triumph in Marrakech.

In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, Melzer and Skugor survived Match Tie-breaks to advance. But after getting broken in the first game of the final, they never looked back, saving set point in the second-set tie-break to lift the trophy after one hour and 25 minutes.

“First time playing together, I really didn’t expect much. Both of us, we have our qualities when we’re playing well. If we started the week well we knew we could do well and that’s exactly what happened,” Skugor said. “We had some tough matches at the beginning but we managed to get through somehow and at the end, as the tournament went on, we just got better and better.”

Skugor now has four ATP Tour doubles crowns. He captured three trophies last year with Brit Dominic Inglot. Melzer now owns 15 tour-level doubles titles with seven partners.

“It was a great week for us here. Thanks to Franko for playing with me,” Melzer said. “I really had a great time here in Marrakech.”

Skugor and Melzer earn 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points for their efforts and split €29,650 in prize money. Middelkoop and Nielsen fell short on their team debut, but they add 150 points and a share of €15,200.

Did You Know?
Melzer also won eight ATP Tour singles trophies, and climbed as high as eighth in the ATP Rankings in April 2011.

Frenchman Benoit Paire entered his Grand Prix Hassan II semi-final having never won a set in three FedEx ATP Head2Head matches against countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But despite Tsonga cruising through the first set and eventually leading by a break in the decider, Paire battled past the former World No. 5 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Marrakech final, setting a clash against three-time champion Pablo Andujar.

“He played well in the beginning and I was struggling with the sun,” Paire said. “I’m very happy that I won today because this is the first time I beat him.”

Paire is into his first ATP Tour final since 2017 Metz, and he will attempt to claim his second trophy, having triumphed on the red clay of Bastad in 2015 (def. Robredo).

In the championship match, he will face a confident Andujar, who dismissed fourth seed Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-1 in just 74 minutes. Last year, as the World No. 355, Andujar became the lowest-ranked ATP Tour champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 1998. The Spaniard was battling back from three elbow surgeries, and he is currently 70th in the ATP Rankings, one spot behind Paire.

“The tournament is very strong this year with a lot of good players,” Andujar said. “My goal is to win tomorrow. After my injury I’ve always said that my goal is to be healthy. Of course I want to win tomorrow and I will give my best. I won’t be the favourite but I played well today and have nothing to lose.”

Andujar and Paire are certainly familiar foes. The Frenchman has won all three of their FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, but Andujar saved a match point to defeat Paire for the Marbella ATP Challenger Tour title two weeks ago.

“He’s a good friend of mine and I’m happy to face him again,” Paire said. “We know each other very well. I hope that I can win this time.”

Former champion Stan Wawrinka and World No. 5 Dominic Thiem took the role of team captains in a fun-filled charity exhibition, to benefit the Monaco Red Cross, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Saturday.

Alongside Wawrinka on his team of French-speaking players were Lucas Pouille, David Goffin and Daniil Medvedev. BNP Paribas Open champion Thiem was joined by Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov.

Team Stan and Team Dominic contested a Match Tie-break which featured a variety of interesting rule changes. After Pouille and Dimitrov were eliminated in the early stages, a series of two-on-one points took place before Tsitsipas and Medvedev were forced to play left-handed on Court Rainier III.

Perhaps due to his experience of playing left-handed at a young age, Tsitsipas managed to get the better of Medvedev in an extended rally. But that would not be enough for his team, which fell to a 10-7 defeat.

With two-handed backhands banned on match point, David Goffin overcame Karen Khachanov to claim victory for Wawrinka’s team.

Goffin also played a crucial role in the target-based skills game that followed. With players aiming to hit three targets with just three service attempts, Goffin secured a 3-0 win for Team Stan. The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up was the only player to strike any of the targets.

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event on clay, is almost here. But before we usher in another European clay-court swing, ATPTour.com remembers five highlights from the 2018 edition.

1. Rafa Rafa’d. Again.
Stop us if you’ve read this before: Rafael Nadal won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. By now, you’ve heard or read that line 11 times as last year the Spaniard became the first male to win an ATP Tour tournament 11 times.

Nadal also became the outright Masters 1000 titles leader with 31 (he now has 33), breaking his tie with Serbian Novak Djokovic (who now has 32). At the time, Nadal had won a career-best 36 consecutive sets on clay. His flawless run through the Monte-Carlo field marked the fifth time he had won the tournament without dropping a set (2008-10, 2012, 2018).

Watch: Rafa Wins 11th Monte-Carlo Title

It was a foreshadowing event for the Spaniard, who would continue making history during the clay season. Nadal also won his 11^th titles at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Tsitsipas) and Roland Garros (d. Thiem). Another massive clay-court haul helped the Spaniard finish at No. 2 in the year-end ATP Rankings.

2. Nishikori Launches Return To Nitto ATP Finals
Kei Nishikori produced the most unexpected result of the season’s first clay-court Masters 1000 event. The Japanese reached his fourth Masters 1000 final – and his second on clay – before falling to Nadal.

It was only his second time playing at the event, and two months earlier, Nishikori, still on the comeback from right-wrist surgery, was lifting the trophy at the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, an indoor ATP Challenger Tour event.

But Nishikori beat Tomas Berdych, Sydney International titlist Daniil Medvedev, second seed Marin Cilic and Germany’s Alexander Zverev to reach his first final since February 2017 (Argentina Open, l. to Dolgopolov). He’d end his season by making his fourth trip to the Nitto ATP Finals, and his first big result came in Monte-Carlo.

Watch: Nishikori Reaches Monte-Carlo Final

3. The Bryan Brothers Returned To Top Form
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the doubles team to beat as the clay-court season began in earnest in the Principality. The Bryans won their second consecutive Masters 1000 title and their 38^th overall by knocking off the reigning Australian Open champions Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic.

But their season would break down during the Mutua Madrid Open final, when the American twins had to retire for the first time in 1,407 matches as a team because of a right hip injury for Bob. The left-handed twin wouldn’t take the court again until January 2019, but Mike continued their winning ways with Jack Sock, taking Wimbledon, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals.

And the Bryans are back in form again. While they will not compete in Monte-Carlo, the Americans just won their sixth Miami title.

Watch: Bryans Win Monte-Carlo Doubles Title

4. Djokovic Showed Signs Of Progress
This was progress for Novak Djokovic in April 2018: The two-time Monte-Carlo champion pushed Dominic Thiem to three sets before losing in the third round at his home Masters 1000 event.

It was certainly an improvement from where he left off at the Miami Open presented by Itau, losing his opener to Frenchman Benoit Paire. The Serbian, however, had laid the foundation for another record-breaking season.

In Miami, he played pain-free for the first time in nearly two and a half years, and in Monte-Carlo, he reunited with longtime coach Marian Vajda. Djokovic reached the Fever-Tree Championships final and won Wimbledon in July to show the tennis world he was back.

He’d climb from No. 22 to No. 1 to finish at the pinnacle of the year-end ATP Rankings for the fifth time (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018).

Watch Hot Shot: Djokovic Unleashes

5. Zverev Started Where He Left Off On Clay
Zverev didn’t take home another Masters 1000 title on clay, but the German was showing close to his best level as the European clay-court season began. Zverev made the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo (l. to Nishikori) and improved to 17-7 on the season.

He’d bring that form the rest of the clay-court stretch as well. Zverev repeated as champion at the BMW Open By FWU in Munich, won his third Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Thiem) and made his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros.

Watch: Zverev Reflects On QF Win

The Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the third ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, is set to begin at the Monte-Carlo Country Club, where 14 of the Top 20 players in the ATP Rankings are competing. Leading the way is 11-time champion Rafael Nadal and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who have won 13 of the past 14 titles in the Principality. Former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka (2014) is the other past winner in the field.

Singles Draw | Doubles Draw

10 THINGS TO WATCH IN MONTE-CARLO

1) Nadal Returns: World No. 2 Rafael Nadal is playing his first tournament since pulling out of his Indian Wells semi-final with a knee injury on 16 March. Nadal owns a 68-4 record at the tournament. The Spaniard captured eight titles in a row from 2005-12, and he’s earned the trophy the past three years, winning 15 consecutive matches since his semi-final loss to Djokovic in 2015.

2) History In The Making: Last year in Monte-Carlo Nadal became the first player to win a tour-level tournament 11 times. After accomplishing the feat in Monaco, Nadal did the same in Barcelona and Roland Garros. Nadal has won an Open Era record 57 clay-court titles and he has the best career winning percentage on clay (92.0%, 415-36).

3) Novak The Top Seed: Djokovic, who came into last year’s tournament ranked No. 13, is playing in Monte-Carlo for the 13th time in 14 years (except 2011). He has a 32-10 record in the Principality, where he resides, capturing titles in 2013 and 2015 and reaching the final in 2009 and 2012. This is the fifth time (2012-13, 2015-16) he comes in ranked No. 1.

4) Zverev Eyes Jumpstart: Third seed Alexander Zverev advanced to the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo last year. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion is 11-5 this season with a runner-up finish in Acapulco. Last year he won two of his four titles on clay; in Munich and at the Mutua Madrid Open, a Masters 1000 tournament.

5) Thiem Title Time: Fourth seed Dominic Thiem won the biggest title of his career at the BNP Paribas Open last month (d. Federer). The 25-year-old Austrian won two clay titles last season and reached the Roland Garros final. Eight of Thiem’s 12 career titles have come on clay. He reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo last year, falling short against Nadal.

6) Stefanos Shining: One year ago, #NextGenATP Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas had to go through qualifying on his Monte-Carlo debut, defeating Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the main draw before ultimately falling to 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin. This time, Tsitsipas arrives as the sixth seed. In 2019, he has reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, triumphed in Marseille and advanced to the championship match in Dubai (l. to Federer).

7) Canadian Breakthroughs: #NextGenATP Canadian stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov are coming off semi-final efforts at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Both players jumped to career-high ATP Rankings with the 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime at No. 33 and Shapovalov, who turns 20 on Monday, at No. 20.

8) Another Run For Kei?: Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori reached the final in Monte-Carlo last year as the No. 36 player in the ATP Rankings, in his first appearance at the event since 2012. That proved a springboard performance for Nishikori, as he’d return to top form and qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

9) Wild Cards: The wild cards are from four different countries: #NextGenATP teenager Auger-Aliassime (CAN), Lucas Catarina (MON), Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) and Jaume Munar (ESP).

10) Singles Stars Take Doubles Court: Nine players who have cracked the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings are competing in the Monte-Carlo doubles draw, including World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is set to play at the Masters 1000 tournament with brother Marko Djokovic for the first time (five previous appearances). Other notable pairs include Grigor Dimitrov/Stan Wawrinka, Jurgen Melzer/Dominic Thiem and Felix Auger-Aliassime/Denis Shapovalov. The top seeds are Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who triumphed at this year’s Australian Open.

Eighth seed Sam Querrey inched closer to a third final at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. The American marched into the semi-finals on Friday, saving two set points in the opening set and another in the second set to defeat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-6(6), 7-6(4).

“My first two matches were pretty clean, but this match was more about fighting your way through it,” said Querrey. “There were some frustrating moments against a tough opponent, but I found a way to win those tie-breaks and that’s what tennis is about sometimes.”  

In a match with no service breaks, Querrey let slip a 4/1 lead and dropped five straight points in the first-set tiebreak, but rallied from 4/6 to win the next four points. He then saved a set point on his serve at 4-5 in the second set before eventually prevailing in one hour and 48 minutes.

The two-time Houston finalist (2010, 2015) is through to the last four without dropping a set. He also reached the semi-finals this February at the New York Open (l. to Schnur). Querrey evened his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Tipsarevic at 4-4 after losing their three previous matches against the Serbian, who was appearing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final since October 2016.

Querrey will now play Christian Garin after the Chilean comfortably defeated Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen 6-3, 6-2. Garin saved five match points in his second-round win over second seed Jeremy Chardy of France. He reached his first ATP Tour singles final last month at the Brasil Open (l. to Pella).

#NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud denied Marcel Granollers the birthday he hoped for. The Spaniard turned 33 on Friday, but Ruud didn’t provide any gifts and won 11 straight games to prevail in their quarter-final 6-1, 6-0. All three of Ruud’s ATP Tour semi-finals have come on clay. The 20-year-old reached the last four at the 2017 Rio Open presented by Claro (l. to Carreno Busta) and again last month at the Brasil Open (l. to Garin).

Next up for Ruud is the winner between seventh seed Jordan Thompson of Australia and qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia.

In 2003, Rafael Nadal won two matches at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters as a 16-year-old. Ever since, the Spaniard has dominated at the first ATP Masters 1000 clay-court tournament of the season.

Nadal has triumphed in Monaco 11 times, one of three events (also Barcelona & Roland Garros) at which the lefty has lifted that many trophies. The 32-year-old arrives this year trying to make more history, pursuing a record 12th crown.

Fast Facts
– By defeating Kei Nishikori in last year’s Monte-Carlo final, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 titles at a single tournament. He would later earn 11th crowns at Barcelona and Roland Garros.

– Nadal won 46 straight matches in Monte-Carlo from 2005-13, a record for consecutive victories at a single tournament.

– Of his 11 triumphs at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament, Nadal has not dropped a set on five occasions.

– Nadal has not lost a match against Roger Federer (3-0), Andy Murray (3-0), Stan Wawrinka (2-0) or Dominic Thiem (2-0) in Monte-Carlo.

– From 2006-08, Nadal defeated Federer in three consecutive Monte-Carlo finals, winning seven of eight sets against the Swiss star.

Five Nadal Stats From Indian Wells
First Match: 2003, Nadal def. Karol Kucera 6-1, 6-2

First Title: 2005, Nadal def. Guillermo Coria 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5

Record: 68-4

Top 10 record : 22-3

6-0 Sets Won: 11

Most Recent Appearance: 2018
Nadal arrived in Monaco having won 10 consecutive matches at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament. But the Spaniard had not played a tournament since the Australian Open due to a hip injury.

That didn’t matter for Nadal, as he stormed to his 11th crown in Monte-Carlo, triumphing at the prestigious event without dropping a set. On average, Nadal lost just two games per set en route to his victory.

Seed at the 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters: No. 2

Did You Know?
Nadal is the only competitor from the 2003 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters who was directly accepted into this year’s main draw. 

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The old adage of “one match at a time” couldn’t apply more heavily to this year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters draw. While some fans may be looking ahead to a championship clash between top seed Novak Djokovic and second seed Rafael Nadal, their draws have plenty of obstacles to clear once main draw action starts on Sunday in the first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the year.

Two-time champion Djokovic will open his campaign against Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis or Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Kohlschreiber recorded a stunning third-round upset of the World No. 1 last month at the BNP Paribas Open. Should the top seeds progress through the draw as projected, Djokovic could face No. 6 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the quarter-finals. The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals champion defeated Djokovic in their only FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting last year at the Rogers Cup.

Nadal begins his quest for an unprecedented 12th title at this event against Aussie John Millman or Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain, but could have a blockbuster third-round clash against No. 15 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada or Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Clay-court specialists including former Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, No. 11 seed and 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy, and Rio Open presented by Claro champion Laslo Djere of Serbia also loom in his quarter.

“This has always been a very special place for me,” said Nadal during the draw ceremony. “I watched all of the great champions here as a kid, so it was always a dream for me to be here.”

Third seed Alexander Zverev is in the bottom half of the draw and will look to shake off a disappointing early exit this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The German could have a blockbuster opening-round clash against #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Kei Nishikori, last year’s Monte-Carlo finalist and the fifth seed this year, could await in the quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Dominic Thiem is in the top half of the draw and looks to start his favourite part of the season with a flourish. The Austrian starts out against a qualifier or Martin Klizan of Slovakia, but No. 16 seed David Goffin looms in the third round. The Belgian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 7-3 and has won their past three matches. No. 8 seed Karen Khachanov is Thiem’s projected quarter-final opponent and the Russian won their only FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting last year at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Intriguing first-round matches to watch include No. 9 seed Borna Coric of Croatia squaring off against in-form Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, No. 14 seed Gael Monfils of France taking on Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, and Wawrinka battling against Frenchman Lucas Pouille.

Rafael Nadal hit the red dirt for the first time Friday at the 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where next week he will start favourite to win his 12th title at the ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament. 

Nadal had a light late-afternoon practice with Serbian Dusan Lajovic before heading to the official draw ceremony.

The holder of a record 33 Masters 1000 titles won the first of his 11 titles in the Principlaity in 2005.

This year’s tournament, the first of three clay Masters 1000s, begins Sunday.