Stuttgart, Germany – Champions in 2024, Brazilian players Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo are returning to the site of their inaugural title together. Starting Monday, they will be the fourth seeds at the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart, aiming to defend their title on the German grass courts.
In their opening match, Matos and Melo will face local wildcards Justin Engel and Jan-Lennard Struff. If they advance, they could meet either the team of Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and American Austin Krajicek, or the duo of Indian Yuki Bhambri and American Robert Galloway.
A potential semifinal matchup could see the Brazilian duo challenged by the second-seeded French team of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, who begin their campaign against Mexican Miguel Reyes-Varela and Indian N. Sriram Balaji.
In the upper half of the draw, the top seeds are German duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, facing the Italian team of Matteo Arnaldi and Lorenzo Sonego. The hosts may find themselves in a potential all-German quarterfinal, provided wildcards Yannick Hanfmann and Andreas Mies overcome American Alex Michelsen and Rajeev Ram.
Additionally, the Indian Rohan Bopanna and Belgian Sander Gille hold the third seed position and will take on Germans Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner. Should they progress, they may encounter singles players Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka, or the pairing of local Hendrik Jebens and Frenchman Albano Olivetti.
In addition to Matos and Melo’s triumph last year, Brazilian tennis boasts six other victories in this German tournament. In 1997, Gustavo Kuerten and Fernando Meligeni lifted the trophy while playing on clay, marking a purely Brazilian victory. Jaime Oncins teamed up with Argentine Daniel Orsanic for the title in 1999, while Thomaz Bellucci won the event alongside Facundo Bagnis in 2013. With the tournament’s transition to grass, Bruno Soares claimed back-to-back titles in 2017 with Brit Jamie Murray and in 2019 with Australian John Peers; Marcelo Demoliner secured the trophy with Santiago González in 2021.
This year, Matos and Melo’s return to Stuttgart is highly anticipated, as Brazilian tennis has a rich legacy in this tournament. Their experience and determination could pave the way for another successful campaign on the grass.