Top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan started their grass-court season quickly on Wednesday at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. The American twins needed just 42 minutes to beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan and Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1.

The Bryan brothers, who were finalists on Saturday at Roland Garros, have won 112 tour-level titles together, but none at Stuttgart, which switched from clay to grass last year. In fact, this week marks the first time the Bryans have played at an ATP World Tour event in the German city.

They’ll next face Aussie Sam Groth and Swede Robert Lindstedt in the quarter-finals.

Top Seeds Advance In ‘s-Hertogenbosch

Top seeds Rohan Bopanna/Nicolas Mahut defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Robin Haase 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Ricoh Open. Mahut, who took over the No. 1 spot in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday, had defeated countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu in singles play earlier in the day. Bopanna/Mahut dropped only three points on their first serve, did not face a break point and advanced in just 50 minutes.

In the quarter-finals, the top seeds will face Gilles Muller/Frederik Nielsen, who saw off Marcelo Demoliner and Nicholas Monroe 6-3, 6-3. Muller/Nielsen fired eight aces and saved both break points faced.

Roger Federer enjoyed a graceful return to the ATP World Tour on Wednesday before rain stopped his second-round match at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart.

The top seed was up a break on #NextGen star Taylor Fritz 4-3 in the first set. At 30/30, 3-3, Federer struck a strong service return that Fritz hit into the net. Facing his first break point of the match, the 18-year-old then double faulted.

Minutes later, at about 5:25 p.m. local time, rain started to fall. Play was later suspended for the day, with Federer and Fritz scheduled to resume not before 12: 30 p.m. local time on Thursday.

Unfortunately we can’t play today anymore, too much of this stuff ?☁️?⛈?☂☔️
See you tomorrow @MercedesCup pic.twitter.com/zXlYfpEc5Q

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) June 8, 2016

Federer, who was playing his first match since losing to Dominic Thiem in Rome on May 12, showed no signs of a lingering back injury that forced him to withdraw from Roland Garros. The No. 3 player in the Emirates ATP Rankings moved from side to side without issue and freely approached the net on Center Court in Stuttgart. The 34 year old also didn’t have to ease up on any balls like he had to last month in Rome.

Despite the early break, Fritz also looked ready for the occasion and didn’t appear starstuck by playing a childhood idol. He spoke on Tuesday about what it would be like to face Federer.

“It’s amazing being able to play the next round, because growing up, Federer was the guy that nobody could beat,” Fritz said after his first-round win. “I grew up in that generation of him just dominating, so it’s crazy now to be stepping on the court with him.”

The American also shared a memory of watching Federer play Juan Martin del Potro for the US Open title in 2009.

“I remember I was in fifth grade in my computer class. We were supposed to be doing some kind of assignment and I was live streaming the US Open final, Federer versus del Potro. Sitting there then, I never thought that at the same tournament I’d be playing against Federer…”

Thursday’s winner will face German qualifier Florian Mayer, who beat Stuttgart’s Michael Berrer 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 before the rain fell.

Top German Philipp Kohlschreiber also advanced to the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year, overcoming Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-3. The seventh seed erased four of five break points but needed four match points to put away the 23-year-old American, who was trying to reach his first quarter-final since last year at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

“[I’m] very happy with the transition from clay to grass… Today [I had] a tough opponent. Denis Kudla played a fantastic grass-court season last year,” Kohlschreiber said of Kudla, who won an ATP Challenger Tour event and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year on grass.

Kohlschreiber, No. 26 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will face second seed Marin Cilic or Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, who was two points away from knocking out Andy Murray in the first round of Roland Garros.

“It’s a very strong tournament,” Kohlschreiber said. “I’m happy I put myself in a great position, and I know if I play well in the quarters I can reach the semis or even more.”

Two-time champion Nicolas Mahut got the better of his friend Paul-Henri Mathieu for the first time in their fourth meeting, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 46 minutes on Wednesday at the Ricoh Open. He is now into the quarter-finals. The pair had dined out together on Saturday, when Mahut learned he had become the new No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. Read Tribute

However, an unforced error months prior had nearly cost Mahut an opportunity to play singles this week.

“I almost had to play qualies because I forgot to enter the tournament before the six-week deadline,” Mahut revealed. “I’ve only forgotten to do this twice in my career. The last time was 2000. I went online to check the entry list and could not believe I was not on it. So I called the tournament director and I am really happy I got a wild card.”

The Frenchman was also a winner on the doubles court on Wednesday. Mahut partnered Rohan Bopanna to a 6-1, 6-4 win over wild card Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Robin Haase after recovering from his singles match.

Second seed Bernard Tomic earned his first ATP World Tour win on Dutch soil after dismissing Brit Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 6-3 in the second round. The Aussie saved three break points and landed 67 per cent of first serves.

“It’s a beautiful tournament,” Tomic said. “There’s a lot of green, it’s very relaxing and I am happy to be here. I’ve had my best results on grass and it is probably best suited to my game.”

Elsewhere, fifth seed Sam Querrey knocked out Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-4 in 57 minutes to move into the quarter-finals. Querrey has a 1-2 record in ATP World Tour grass-court finals.

Taylor Fritz called Juan Martin del Potro his dream doubles partner in a Fantasy Doubles feature a few weeks ago on ATPWorldTour.com. 

“I’d play with del Potro. Hands down,” he said at the time. “We’d be unstoppable. He has a few inches on me, but I like to think we have pretty similar games. His forehand is still one of the biggest weapons on the ATP World Tour. I’ll never forget I was 11 when he won the US Open and broke into the Top 5. He was dominating everyone in his path. Ruthless on the court, but so humble off it. That’s what I’ve admired most about delPo. He always has a smile on his face, no matter what he’s gone through. He’s a fighter. I’m a fighter. We’ll click.”

On Tuesday at the MercedesCup, Fritz saw the dream become a reality. And though they both made winning starts in singles action earlier in the day, they came up short on the doubles court as they lost to another new pair, Florian Mayer and Philipp Oswald 7-6(5), 6-3.

Fritz, who next meets Roger Federer in second-round singles action Wednesday, said: “I never thought that at the same tournament I’d be playing against Federer and playing doubles with del Potro.” 

Mayer and Oswald go on to face No. 2 seeds Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. Mergea won the Stuttgart doubles title last year alongside Rohan Bopanna.

Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin, winners of two ATP World Tour titles this season, also advanced to the quarter-finals as they defeated Andrey Kuznetsov and Gilles Simon 6-3, 7-6(2). Meanwhile, Sam Groth and Robert Lindstedt closed out a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Croatians Marin Cilic and Antonio Sancic.

At the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, second seeds Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram rallied for a 6-7(9), 6-4, 10-7 victory over Aliaksandr Bury and Igor Zelenay. Third seeds Dominic Inglot and Raven Klaasen also needed a Match Tie-break to get by the Dutch duo of Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, teaming up for the first time since their triumph last month at the Geneva Open, bowed out against Chris Guccione and Andre Sa, 6-2, 3-6, 10-6. 

Many will remember the time Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic battled over five sets for a place in the 2013 Wimbledon final. After prevailing in four hours and 43 minutes, making it the longest Wimbledon semi-final in history, Djokovic remarked, “It was one of the best matches I’ve been a part of.” Meanwhile, del Potro referred to it as “the best tennis I ever played on grass”.

The match also happened to be the Argentine’s last on the surface prior his first-round match Tuesday at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. His long-awaited return did not disappoint. Del Potro opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov, also a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and a Queen’s Club champion.

“It’s a big victory for me after three years of not playing on this surface,” said del Potro. “I beat one guy who was playing great on grass court and I didn’t expect this kind of level to be my first match on grass, but I’m looking forward to keep going. I served well, my forehand is working good. My backhand is starting to come back in my game and that gives me motivation for the future.”

Del Potro began his comeback in February with a semi-final run at the Delray Beach Open (l. to Querrey) and compiled an 8-5 record through the Mutua Madrid Open, where he upset a 14th-ranked Dominic Thiem, before electing to skip Roland Garros to prepare for the grass swing.

“We will see if I did a good choice after Wimbledon, but I’m happy to be in this tournament once again,” he said. “The tournament is improving year by year, and I have great memories from Stuttgart when I won the title in 2008. Could be a good idea to do a comeback on grass-court season and come back in Stuttgart.”

In 2008, a couple months shy of his 20th birthday, the Argentine claimed his first ATP World Tour title on the clay courts of the MercedesCup with victory over Richard Gasquet in the final. It provided the springboard for an incredible 23-match winning streak that resulted in three more titles and finished with a quarter-final showing at the US Open (l. to Murray), lifting him from No. 65 to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Eight years later, the former World No. 4 is back at the MercedesCup – reincarnated as a grass-court tournament last season – with a No. 223 Emirates ATP Ranking and hopes of sparking his comeback from his third wrist surgery in as many years.

“It’s not easy for me, but I’m surviving on this for the last six months of my life,” he said. “I’m dealing with the pain and my wrist is getting better, so this is good. Hopefully in the end of the season I can see I’m completely ready to try to go for the top guys.”