Koolhof/Skupski On Collision Course With Singles Stars In Monte-Carlo

Chasing their first title of the season at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski could have to overcome a series of ATP Tour singles stars in the Principality.

The top seeds, who won three ATP Masters 1000 trophies last year, could face Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov in their opening match, with Jannik Sinner and Diego Schwartzman potential quarter-final opponents. Rublev and Khachanov start against Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, while Sinner and Schwartzman take on eighth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

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Fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are seeded to meet Koolhof and Skupski in the semi-finals. The Croatians lifted the trophy in Monaco in 2021 and will begin this year’s quest against Simone Bolelli and Lorenzo Musetti or Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune.

Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury arrive at the clay-court event aiming to kickstart their season. The second seeds, who have won three ATP Masters 1000 titles as a team, hold a 6-5 record on the year, with their best result a run to the semi-finals in Pune.

They begin against wild cards Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn or Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev. Ram and Salisbury could face Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in the quarter-finals. The sixth seeds play wild cards Nicolas Mahut and Stan Wawrinka in the first round. Frenchman Mahut clinched the crown in Monaco in 2016 with Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, who are also in the bottom half, have strong pedigree on clay, triumphing at Roland Garros as a team last season. They will face wild cards Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas or Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz in their first match.