Melo celebrates his 1,000th match and receives tribute from the ATP

The historic mark of 1,000 games on the circuit was celebrated with a victory this Monday (24th) by Marcelo Melo from Minas Gerais.

In his debut at the ATP 250 in Atlanta, United States, Melo and the Australian John Peers – seed number 3 – defeated the Venezuelan Luís David Martinez and the American Reese Stalder by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 6/1 and 7/6 (7-3), in 1h05min, confirming the favoritism and advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The next opponents for Melo and Peers in Atlanta will be the winners of the match between the British Daniel Evans and the Australian John-Patrick Smith against the partnership of the Americans William Blumberg and Rajeev Ram.

“Very happy to complete 1,000 games in my career. Today we won here, playing very well. First game on hard court after the sequence on grass. Thank you very much to everyone who helped me reach this milestone. It is not easy, you have to be playing for a long time”, said Marcelo, who is sponsored by Centauro and BMG, with support from Volvo, Head, Voss and Asics.

“They ended up paying tribute here, with a cake, I already ate a piece. Really celebrating for so many years playing, with so many victories. Lots of people supporting me to get there, by my side.

Among active doubles players, Melo is the first on the circuit to reach 1,000 matches. Before, 13 stuntmen reached and surpassed this mark. It was his 608th victory.

In the first set, Melo and Peers broke in the second game, then opening 3/0. And, with another break, in the sixth game, they extended the advantage to close at 6/1. The second set had no breaks, with the definition going to tie-break. In it, the miner and the Australian imposed their game, scoring 7/6 (7-3) to win in the debut and continue in Atlanta.

The ATP 250 in Atlanta kicks off the pair’s fast court tour. This is the third time that the miner is in Atlanta. And the tenth tournament for Melo and Peers together in the 2023 season.