Melo/Zverev Charge To Monte Carlo Quarter-Finals

Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev pulled off a shock win at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Tuesday, powering past 2016 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut to reach the quarter-finals on their ATP Masters 1000 team debut.

The big-serving Brazilian-German duo ran out 7-5, 6-4 winners over Herbet and Mahut, who came into the second-round clash with a 7-1 team record for 2022 having clinched a 22nd ATP Tour title in Montpellier in February.

According to Infosys ATP Stats, Melo and Zverev won 80 per cent (37/46) of points behind their first delivery in the match. This gave the wild cards a foundation from which to attack, and they broke their opponents three times on the way to victory in 81 minutes.

Melo and Zverev’s quarter-final opponents will be Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, after the eighth seeds overcame Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic 6-3, 6-3. El Salvadorian Arevalo and Dutchman Rojer are hunting their third title of 2022 after triumphing on the hard courts in Dallas and Delray Beach.

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The first round was completed on Tuesday at the Monte Carlo Country Club, with the final three matches played. Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar edged out Croatian pairing Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig with a 2-6, 6-4, 10-4 win, while there was also Match Tie-break joy for Daniel Evans and Diego Schwartzman, who beat Monagesque wild cards Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys 4-6, 7-5, 12-10.

Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni also advanced to the second round, taking out Nikoloz Basilashvili and Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-4. The Mexican-Argentine pairing has already clinched two clay-court titles in 2022, lifting the trophies in Cordoba and Buenos Aires, but is still seeking a maiden Masters 1000 crown.