Matwé Middelkoop (; born 3 September 1983) is a Dutch professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player who specialises in doubles. He has won 13 doubles titles on the

ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...

, most notably the 2022 Rotterdam Open alongside

Robin Haase Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012, and has won two singles titles, at the Austrian Open in both 2011 and 2012. Haase also reache ...

, and reached a career high doubles ranking of world No. 22 on 25 July 2022. Middelkoop has reached the 2022 French Open semifinal in doubles and the 2019 Wimbledon Championships semifinal in mixed doubles, and two more

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

quarterfinals in men's doubles, at the 2017 US Open and at the 2021 Australian Open. In singles, Middelkoop reached his highest ranking of world No. 197 in November 2008. He has represented the Netherlands in the Davis Cup since 2009, and holds a 3–1 record.

Professional career

Middelkoop has reached 83 doubles finals in his career, with a record of 46 wins and 37 losses. This includes a record of 9–12 in ATP finals, 15–14 in ATP Challenger finals and 22–11 in

ITF Futures The ITF World Tennis Tour (formerly known as the ''ITF Men's World Tennis Tour'', and previously ''ITF Men's Circuit'') is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. ...

finals. Additionally, he has reached 28 career singles finals, with a record of 15 wins and 13 losses. All of the singles finals he has appeared in have come at the

level with the exception of one, when he lost the 2012 The Hague Open challenger tournament in Scheveningen, Netherlands to Jerzy Janowicz of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in straight sets ''2–6, 2–6''.

Singles

Middelkoop has played most of his singles career on the

Futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...

circuit. Middelkoop made his

singles debut in 2008 at the

Ordina Open The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, branded by its sponsored name as the Libéma Open since 2018, (formerly known as the Continental Grass Court Championships, Heineken Trophy, Ordina Open, UNICEF Open, Topshelf Open and RICOH Open), is a pro ...

on the grass courts of 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, when he was granted entry into the main draw as a lucky loser. In qualifying, he received a bye in the first round, then advanced through the second round when opponent

Robert Lindstedt Robert Lindstedt (born 19 March 1977) is a Swedish former professional tennis player who specialized in doubles. He turned professional in 1998, and reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in May 2013. Lindstedt won his first Grand ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

retired in the third set while trailing ''6–3, 4–6, 2–3'', but was then defeated in the final round by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Benjamin Becker Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German retired professional tennis player who is known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open in what was Agassi's last match as a professional player. Bec ...

in straight sets ''2–6, 4–6''. He entered the main draw as a lucky loser recipient after Finland's

Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles titles ...

withdrew with a right heel injury, however he was promptly defeated by eventual runner-up

Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel (born 30 March 1977) is a former professional male tennis player from France. Tennis career Gicquel turned pro in 1999. He made his ATP Tour singles debut at the 2002 Open 13 tournament on hard courts in Marseilles, France. He ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

again in straight sets ''4–6, 1–6''.

Doubles

2008: ATP debut

Middelkoop made his

doubles debut at the 2008 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament held on hard courts in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, Netherlands. He was granted a direct acceptance into the doubles draw alongside compatriot

Jesse Huta Galung Jesse Huta Galung (born 6 October 1985) is a former professional Dutch tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each playe ...

, however they would be defeated in the first round by second seeds and eventual semi-finalists

Julian Knowle Julian Knowle (born 29 April 1974) is an Austrian former male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander, Knowle was one of the few on the ATP Tour who played his forehand, backhand, and even volleys double-handed. He was Austria's ...

and

Simon Aspelin Simon Aspelin (; born 11 May 1974) is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998. His success mainly came in doubles, winning 12 titles and reaching World No. 7 in March 2008. In men's doubles, Aspel ...

in straight sets ''3–6, 5–7''.

2016-2017: First Major quarterfinal, Maiden title & three more ATP 250 titles

Middelkoop won his maiden ATP tour doubles title at the 2016 Sofia Open on indoor hard courts in Bulgaria, partnering compatriot

Wesley Koolhof Wesley Koolhof (; born 17 April 1989) is a Dutch professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He achieved his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 in doubles on 7 November 2022. He has won 14 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, mos ...

. The pair defeated

Adil Shamasdin Adil Shamasdin ( ; born May 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 41 on June 26, 2017. Tennis career Shamasdin's junior career saw him finish ranked No. ...

and

Philipp Oswald Philipp Oswald (; born 23 January 1986) is an Austrian professional tennis player who primarily plays doubles events on the ATP Tour. On 7 December 2009, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of world No. 206, and his highest doubles ranki ...

in a third set tie-breaker 5–7, 7–6^(11–9), 0–6in the championship match to capture the title.

2018-2019: Four more titles & eight finals, Top 30 career-high

2021: Second Major quarterfinal, Masters semifinal, Three titles, top 30 return

2021 was the most successful year after 2018 on the ATP tour in Middelkoop’s professional career. With his partner

Marcelo Arévalo Marcelo Arévalo González (; born October 17, 1990) is a Salvadoran professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 5 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 14 November 2022. ...

, the pair reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 Australian Open and the semifinals of the 2021 Italian Open (tennis) defeating home favorites Fognini/Musetti in the round of 16 and Dutch pair Koolhof/Rojer in the quarterfinals. As a result he returned to the top 40 in the doubles rankings. At the

2021 Winston-Salem Open The 2021 Winston-Salem Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 52nd edition of the Winston-Salem Open (as successor to previous tournaments in New Haven and Long Island), and part of the ATP Tour 250 Series of ...

, he won his tenth title partnering Arévalo when they defeated

Ivan Dodig Ivan Dodig (; born 2 January 1985) is a Croatian professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He is a six-time Grand Slam champion, having won men's doubles titles at the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo, and the 2021 Au ...

and

Austin Krajicek Austin Krajicek (born June 16, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 9 achieved on 7 November 2022 and in singles of World No. 94 achieved on October 26, 2015. He is a distant c ...

in the final. As a result he reentered the top 30 at a new career-high of World No. 28 on 30 August 2021.

2022: First ATP 500 title, French Open semifinalist, top 25 debut

At the 2022 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament he won his first ATP 500 title with

. As a result he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 26 on 14 February 2022. At the 2022 French Open he reached the semifinals for the first time at a Grand Slam in his career partnering

Rohan Bopanna Rohan Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career-high ranking was world No. 213 in 2007 and his career-high ranking in doubles was world No. 3 on 22 July 2013. He has been a member of the Indian ...

defeating en route the second seeds, former World No. 1 pair and 2021 Wimbledon champions

Nikola Mektic Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...

Mate Pavic Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Person or title * Friendship ...

.https://olympics.com/en/news/french-open-tennis-2022-india-rohan-bopanna-men-doubles-quarter-final-result He reached a career-high in the top 25 on 27 June 2022 at the start of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

ATP Tour career finals

Doubles: 30 (13 titles, 17 runners-up)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 28 (15–13)

Doubles: 62 (37–25)

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

''Current through the 2022 Davis Cup.''

Mixed doubles

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Middelkoop, Matwe 1983 births Living people Dutch male tennis players Dutch people of Russian descent Sportspeople from Breda People from Leerdam Sportspeople from Utrecht (province) 21st-century Dutch people