Brazilians Matos/Melo win Stuttgart doubles title

Brazilians Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo won their first tour-level title as a team on Sunday in dramatic fashion at the BOSS OPEN. The unseeded duo defeated Julian Cash and Robert Galloway 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 to claim the trophy at the grass-court ATP 250.

"I'm very happy," said Matos, who won his eighth tour-level doubles title. "Our third tournament together, first on grass. I'm really happy to play with Marcelo... Excited with this partnership."

The new-look duo is the first all-Brazilian pair to win Suttgart since Gustavo Kuerten and Fernando Meligeni in 1997. After saving two match points in the semi-finals against Germans Hendrik Jebens and Constantin Frantzen, Matos/Melo won their third Match Tie-break of the week in the final, fuelled by a four-point run from 2/2.

"I think what decided it was from the second set we started to play much better," said Melo, now a 38-time tour-level doubles champ. "The energy was so high. I think we got some very important points at the beginning of the tie-break, leaving us a little bit more calm. At 9/8 we just played a very good point to finish."

The title triumph moved the Brazilian duo up 102 places to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. They are now 5-2 as a team, with their only win before Stuttgart coming via a third-set tie-break in the Roland Garros first round.

Photo: Libema Open

Lammons/Withrow victorious in 's-Hertogenbosch
Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow earned their first ATP Tour title of the season on Saturday when they defeated top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in the Libema Open final.

The Americans won three Match Tie-breaks to reach the championship match and battled through two tie-breaks to capture the crown.

“It was a hard-fought match all the way through. [It was] very typical grass-court tennis, serve games held the whole way,” Lammons said. “Happy to come up with some clutch shots, clutch moments there in both busters. It feels good to start the grass season with a 'W'. We've had a tougher last month or so, so it feels good to get consecutive matches and look forward to the next few weeks.”

On facing a home favourite, Koolhof, in the final, Withrow said: “I think we try to enjoy those environments as much as possible. A lot of last year in some of the bigger matches that we played, the crowds maybe were just in favour of a lot of the good tennis and I'd like to think at the end of the day, they're getting entertainment out of us and hopefully we provide that for them.”

Lammons and Withrow have now won six ATP Tour titles as a team.

Friday, 14 June
Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo survived Match Tie-break drama Friday to reach the BOSS OPEN final, saving two match points to overcome Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 13-11.

The Brazilians tallied three consecutive points from 10/11 in the Match Tie-break, eventually spoiling the Germans’ quest for a maiden tour-level title on home soil.

Matos and Melo, who are aiming for their first trophy together, will face Julian Cash and Robert Galloway in the final after the British-American pair downed Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti 7-5, 6-4. Cash and Galloway are aiming to follow last week’s title run at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Surbiton with their second ATP Tour trophy of the season (Delray Beach).

Top two seeds to clash in ‘s-Hertogenbosch final
Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow ensured a showdown between the top two seeds in the Libema Open final. The second-seeded Americans ousted Andreas Mies and John-Patrick Smith 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 in the last four.

Top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, fifth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin, had already advanced to the title match following the withdrawal of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

Thursday, 13 June
Germans Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens moved one step closer to claiming their maiden tour-level title Thursday at the BOSS OPEN.

The home favourites won a hard-fought battle, pulling away in the Match Tie-break to defeat Victor Cornea and Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(4), 4-6, 10-2 and reach their second tour-level semi-final of the season. Frantzen and Jebens will next meet Brazilians Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo.

Also in Stuttgart, Julian Cash and Robert Galloway raced past Benjamin Hassan and Daniel Masur 6-2, 6-3 in just 53 minutes to book their semi-final ticket. The British-American duo faces Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti in the last four.

Top seeds Koolhof/Mektic reach ‘s-Hertogenbosch final
The top two seeds at the Libema Open remain on course for a final showdown, with Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic already into the championship match. Top seeds Koolhof and Mektic downed Nicolas Barrientos and Francisco Cabral 5-7, 6-2, 10-5 in the quarters Thursday and later advanced to the final following the withdrawal of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

Second seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow also needed a Match Tie-break, advancing to the last four with a 6-3, 6-7(3), 10-5 victory against Zizou Bergs and David Goffin. The Americans, who dropped just five points behind their first delivery Thursday according to Infosys ATP Stats, face Andreas Mies and John-Patrick Smith in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Wednesday, 12 June
Julian Cash and Robert Galloway continued their successful start to the grass-court swing Wednesday by upsetting fourth seeds Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek at the BOSS OPEN.

Fresh off a title run at last week's ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Surbiton, Cash and Galloway built upon their momentum, earning a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory to reach the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.

Also at the ATP 250, Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti advanced to the semi-finals after downing Theo Arribage and Sadio Doumbia 6-3, 6-2. Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens won an all-German quarter-final, rallying past Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-8.

Top 2 seeded teams advance in 's-Hertogenbosch
Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic overcame an early test to reach the quarter-finals at the Libema Open, where the Dutch-Croatian pair defeated Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn 7-6(8), 6-2. The top seeds, fifth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin, saved two set points in the opening-set tie-break.

Second-seeded American duo Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow earned a hard-fought 7-5, 6-7(3), 10-8 victory against home hopes Sander Arends and Matwe Middelkoop. Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson also advanced in 's-Hertogenbosch with a 6-4, 7-6(6) win against Americans Ryan Seggerman and Patrick Trhac.