Benjamin Nicholas Monroe (born April 12, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. Monroe was a doubles specialist. He reached a career-high ATP doubles ranking of No. 30 on 2 October 2017 and won four ATP Tour doubles titles and thirteen ATP Challenger Tour titles in his career.[1]

Nicholas Monroe
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceAustin, Texas, U.S.
Born (1982-04-12) April 12, 1982 (age 42)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2004
Retired2022
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Prize moneyUS$1,498,916
Singles
Career record0–0
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 253 (19 September 2011)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (2007)
WimbledonQ1 (2008)
US OpenQ1 (2008, 2011)
Doubles
Career record154–214
Career titles4 ATP, 13 Challengers
Highest rankingNo. 30 (2 October 2017)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2021)
French OpenQF (2020)
Wimbledon3R (2017)
US OpenQF (2017)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open1R (2018)
French Open1R (2014)
Wimbledon3R (2016)
US Open2R (2017)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Doubles
Last updated on: 6 February 2023.

He briefly coached American player Jack Sock in the off season in 2022 and in 2023.[2][3]

College career

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Monroe had a highly successful college career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2000 to 2004. His achievements include:

  • University of North Carolina's Senior Male Student-Athlete of the Year (2003–2004)
  • All-American Status (2003–2004)
  • All-ACC Status (2002–2004)
  • 2nd in all-time singles wins (100) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Recipient of the Arthur Ashe Regional Sportsmanship Award (2003–2004)
  • National and Regional NCAA/ITF John Van Nostrand Sportsmanship Awards (2003–2004)

Professional career

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2001

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Nicholas competed in doubles in his first main-draw Futures match. He and partner (compatriot) Tripp Phillips lost in the first round of USA F21. This was the only tour event he competed in 2001.[1]

2002

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Monroe reached the quarterfinals of his first Futures tournament in singles play, USA F11, played in Peoria, Illinois in July.

2003

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Nicholas won his first Futures doubles match, partnering Yannis Vlachos to the semifinals of Slovenia F1.[1]

2004: Turned Pro

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After playing only four Futures events in 2003, Monroe played, from June, a full schedule in 2004. In his first doubles tournament of the year, he reached his first final, partnering Jonathan Igbinovia. In August he reached his first singles semifinal, at Indonesia F2 in Makassar. In October, Monroe captured his first doubles Futures title, in doubles, partnering Márcio Torres, at Venezuela F3. He won a second two weeks later, Mexico F17, playing alongside Jeremy Wurtzman. Later in November, Monroe played in his first Challenger tournament, the Puebla Challenger in Puebla, Mexico, losing in the first round to Santiago González. In doubles, he and Wurtzman reached the semifinals. Three weeks later in Guadalajara, however, he won two Challenger matches to reach the quarterfinals.

2005

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His first full year as a professional, Nicholas played ITF Circuit and USTA Pro Circuit events. He reached his first final and won his first singles title at the ITF Circuit event in South Africa, when he defeated Stephen Mitchell. Highly successful in doubles, Nick won four titles in 2005: with Jeremy Wurtzman at the USTA Pro Circuit event in Orange Park, Florida; with Izak van der Merwe at ITF Circuit events in Botswana and Zimbabwe; and with Sam Warburg at the ITF Circuit event in Israel.

Monroe competed in 29 events in 2005, all but one of which were Futures. He lost in the first round of his only main draw Challenger event singles match, to Zack Fleishman at the Cuenca Challenger. Monroe won his first singles title, South Africa F1 in late October, defeating Stephen Mitchell in the final.[1]

2006

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Nicholas started the year by winning the ITF Circuit title in Costa Rica. A month later, he won another ITF title, this time in Nigeria. He reached the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit event in Little Rock, before reaching back-to-back finals in India. He lost to Karan Rastogi in Delhi and defeated Sunil-Kumar Sipaeya in Dehradun. He reached another ITF Circuit final in the fall in Japan, where he lost to Satoshi Iwabuchi. At the beginning of the year, Nick won consecutive doubles titles on the ITF Circuit with partner Sam Warburg in Mexico and Costa Rica.[1]

2007

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Nicholas began the year by attempting to qualify for the 2007 Australian Open. He defeated Jeremy Chardy in his first round singles qualifying match. He reached consecutive ITF Futures events in Japan, where he lost to Gouichi Motomura both times. He won two titles at ITF Futures events in Mexico and won a USTA Pro Circuit event in Rochester, New York, where he defeated Robert Yim in the final. The fall of 2007 saw Monroe reach the semifinals of USTAPro Circuit events in Manchester, Texas, where he lost to eventual champion Michael McClune, and Waikoloa, Hawaii where he lost to Lester Cook. He partnered with Izak van der Merwe to win the USTA Pro Circuit doubles title in Brownsville, Texas.[1]

2012: Challenger circuit doubles success

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Nicholas won the Challenger in Medellin, Colombia (doubles) with his partner Maciek Sykut.

He also won two doubles Challengers in Mexico with German partner, Simon Stadler. [4]

2013–2015: First Three ATP doubles titles

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Monroe at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships

Nicholas had his best year as a professional in 2013, finishing the year with a doubles Ranking of World No. 53. In January 2013, Monroe and partner Raven Klaasen made it to the semifinals of the 2013 Aircel Chennai Open, falling to Benoît Paire and Stanislas Wawrinka, after a surprise quarterfinal win over the #1 Seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Daniel Nestor. He then teamed up successfully with Simon Stadler to play the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They made it to the final, falling to the Italian pair of Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli. In July 2013, he won his first ATP title in doubles also with Stadler at the 250 level at the 2013 Bastad Skistar Swedish Open and reached the final of the 2013 Umag Open in Croatia also on clay.

2017–18: Continued doubles success: First Masters final & US Open quarterfinal, top 30 debut

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Following three semi-final finishes in Chennai, Auckland and Quito all with Artem Sitak, Monroe reached a top 40 doubles ranking of No. 39 on 3 April 2017 after the biggest run of his career to the final of the 2017 Miami Open with Jack Sock.[5] He later peaked at a career-high of No. 30 on 2 October 2017 after reaching his ninth final at the 2017 ATP Shenzhen Open partnering Nikola Mektic.

Partnering Artem Sitak he reached the third round at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships for their first time at this Major and in his career. With John-Patrick Smith at the 2017 US Open, he reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam also for the first time in his career.

The pair also won the title at the 2018 Atlanta Open, and reached earlier in February 2018 the final at the 2018 Delray Beach Open, Monroe's tenth.

2019–2021: Thirteenth final, Second Major quarterfinal at the French Open

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Monroe reached the final of the 2019 Winston-Salem Open partnering compatriot Tennys Sandgren.

Partnering fellow American Tommy Paul, he also reached at the 2020 French Open the second doubles Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career.

He reached the third round at the 2021 Australian Open for the first time at this Major partnering compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

2022: Retirement

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He entered the main draw at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships as an alternate pair again with Tommy Paul.[6] He played his last match on the ATP tour at the 2022 US Open with Keegan Smith as a wildcard pair, where they lost to Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in the second round.

World TeamTennis

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Nicholas has played three seasons with World TeamTennis starting in 2006 when he debuted in the league with the Springfield Lasers, followed by a season with the Kansas City Explorers in 2012 and the Washington Kastles in 2019. It was announced that he will re-joining the Washington Kastles during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12 at The Greenbrier.[7]

Significant finals

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ATP Masters 1000 finals

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Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

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Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2017 Miami Open Hard   Jack Sock   Łukasz Kubot
  Marcelo Melo
5–7, 3–6

ATP career finals

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Doubles: 13 (4 titles, 9 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (4–8)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–4)
Clay (2–4)
Grass (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–9)
Indoor (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2013 Argentina Open,
Argentina
250 Series Clay   Simon Stadler   Simone Bolelli
  Fabio Fognini
3–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Jul 2013 Swedish Open,
Sweden
250 Series Clay   Simon Stadler   Carlos Berlocq
  Albert Ramos Viñolas
6–2, 3–6, [10–3]
Loss 1–2 Jul 2013 Croatia Open,
Croatia
250 Series Clay   Simon Stadler   Martin Kližan
  David Marrero
1–6, 7–5, [7–10]
Win 2–2 Jul 2014 Swedish Open,
Sweden (2)
250 Series Clay   Johan Brunström   Jérémy Chardy
  Oliver Marach
4–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–7]
Loss 2–3 Apr 2015 Romanian Open,
Romania
250 Series Clay   Artem Sitak   Marius Copil
  Adrian Ungur
6–3, 5–7, [15–17]
Loss 2–4 Jul 2015 Hall of Fame Open,
United States
250 Series Grass   Mate Pavić   Jonathan Marray
  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
6–4, 3–6, [8–10]
Win 3–4 Oct 2015 Stockholm Open,
Sweden
250 Series Hard (i)   Jack Sock   Mate Pavić
  Michael Venus
7–5, 6–2
Loss 3–5 Apr 2017 Miami Open,
United States
Masters 1000 Hard   Jack Sock   Łukasz Kubot
  Marcelo Melo
5–7, 3–6
Loss 3–6 Oct 2017 Shenzhen Open,
China
250 Series Hard   Nikola Mektić   Alexander Peya
  Rajeev Ram
3–6, 2–6
Loss 3–7 Feb 2018 Delray Beach Open,
United States
250 Series Hard   John-Patrick Smith   Jack Sock
  Jackson Withrow
6–4, 4–6, [8–10]
Loss 3–8 May 2018 Istanbul Open,
Turkey
250 Series Clay   Ben McLachlan   Dominic Inglot
  Robert Lindstedt
6–3, 3–6, [8–10]
Win 4–8 Jul 2018 Atlanta Open,
United States
250 Series Hard   John-Patrick Smith   Ryan Harrison
  Rajeev Ram
3–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–8]
Loss 4–9 Aug 2019 Winston-Salem Open,
United States
250 Series Hard   Tennys Sandgren   Łukasz Kubot
  Marcelo Melo
7–6(8–6), 1–6, [3–10]

ATP Challenger Tour finals

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Doubles: 33 (13–20)

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Result W–L    Date    Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2005 Joplin, United States Hard (i)   Jeremy Wurtzman   Rik de Voest
  Łukasz Kubot
6–7(4–7), 4–6
Loss 0–2 Jun 2006 Yuba City, United States Hard   Horia Tecău   Scott Lipsky
  David Martin
0–6, 4–6
Loss 0–3 Aug 2006 Manta, Ecuador Hard   Horia Tecău   Eric Nunez
  Jean-Julien Rojer
3–6, 2–6
Loss 0–4 Jul 2007 Winnetka, United States Hard   Izak van der Merwe   Patrick Briaud
  Chris Drake
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss 0–5 Sep 2007 Donetsk, Ukraine Hard   Patrick Briaud   Philipp Petzschner
  Simon Stadler
5–7, 6–3, [6–10]
Win 1–5 Jun 2008 Yuba City, United States Hard   Michael Yani   Jan-Michael Gambill
  Scott Oudsema
6–4, 6–4
Loss 1–6 Jul 2008 Granby, Canada Hard   Alberto Francis   Philip Bester
  Peter Polansky
6–2, 1–6, [5–10]
Loss 1–7 Sep 2008 Waco, United States Hard   Alberto Francis   Alex Bogomolov Jr.
  Dušan Vemić
4–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win 2–7 Nov 2008 Puebla, Mexico Hard   Eric Nunez   Daniel Garza
  Santiago González
4–6, 6–3, [10–6]
Win 3–7 May 2010 Carson, United States Hard   Brian Battistone   Artem Sitak
  Leonardo Tavares
5–7, 6–3, [10–4]
Loss 3–8 Oct 2010 Sacramento, United States Hard   Donald Young   Rik de Voest
  Izak van der Merwe
6–4, 4–6, [7–10]
Loss 3–9 Sep 2011 Bangkok, Thailand Hard   Ludovic Walter   Pierre-Ludovic Duclos
  Riccardo Ghedin
4–6, 4–6
Loss 3–10 Oct 2011 Sacramento, United States Hard   Jack Sock   Carsten Ball
  Chris Guccione
6–7(3–7), 6–1, [5–10]
Loss 3–11 Jan 2012 Honolulu, United States Hard   Jack Sock   Amer Delić
  Travis Rettenmaier
4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss 3–12 Feb 2012 Dallas, United States Hard (i)   Jack Sock   Chris Eaton
  Dominic Inglot
7–6(8–6), 4–6, [17–19]
Win 4–12 Apr 2012 Barranquilla, Colombia Clay   Maciek Sykut   Marcel Felder
  Frank Moser
2–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win 5–12 Apr 2012 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Clay   Simon Stadler   Andre Begemann
  Jordan Kerr
3–6, 7–5, [10–7]
Loss 5–13 May 2012 Tunis, Tunisia Clay   Simon Stadler   Jerzy Janowicz
  Jürgen Zopp
6–7(1–7), 3–6
Win 6–13 Jul 2012 Milan, Italy Clay   Simon Stadler   Andrey Golubev
  Yuri Schukin
6–4, 3–6, [11–9]
Loss 6–14 Oct 2012 Belém, Brazil Hard   Simon Stadler   John Peers
  John-Patrick Smith
3–6, 2–6
Loss 6–15 Oct 2012 San Juan, Argentina Hard   Simon Stadler   Martín Alund
  Horacio Zeballos
6–3, 2–6, [12–14]
Win 7–15 Nov 2012 Medellín, Colombia Clay   Simon Stadler   Renzo Olivo
  Marco Trungelliti
6–4, 6–4
Loss 7–16 May 2013 Bordeaux, France Clay   Simon Stadler   Christopher Kas
  Oliver Marach
6–2, 4–6, [1–10]
Win 8–16 Jun 2013 Prostějov, Czech Republic Clay   Simon Stadler   Mateusz Kowalczyk
  Lukáš Rosol
6–4, 6–4
Win 9–16 Aug 2013 San Marino, San Marino Clay   Simon Stadler   Daniele Bracciali
  Florin Mergea
6–2, 6–4
Loss 9–17 Oct 2013 Rennes, France Hard (i)   Simon Stadler   Oliver Marach
  Florin Mergea
4–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Win 10–17 Nov 2014 Geneva, Switzerland Hard (i)   Johan Brunström   Oliver Marach
  Philipp Oswald
5–7, 7–5, [10–6]
Loss 10–18 May 2015 Aix-en-Provence, France Clay   Artem Sitak   Robin Haase
  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
1–6, 2–6
Win 11–18 Jul 2015 Winnetka, United States Hard   Johan Brunström   Sekou Bangoura
  Frank Dancevic
4–6, 6–3, [10–8]
Loss 11–19 Sep 2015 Cary, United States Hard   Austin Krajicek   Chase Buchanan
  Blaž Rola
4–6, 7–6(7–5), [4–10]
Loss 11–20 Nov 2015 Champaign, United States Hard (i)   Austin Krajicek   David O'Hare
  Joe Salisbury
1–6, 4–6
Win 12–20 Mar 2016 Irving, United States Hard   Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi   Chris Guccione
  André Sá
6–2, 5–7, [10–4]
Win 13–20 Nov 2018 Houston, United States Hard   Austin Krajicek   Marcelo Arévalo
  James Cerretani
4–6, 7–6(7–3), [10–5]

Doubles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current after the 2022 US Open.

Tournament 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R A 3R 1R 0 / 9 3–9
French Open A A 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R A QF 2R 2R 0 / 8 8–8
Wimbledon Q1 2R 1R 2R 1R 3R 1R 2R NH 1R 2R 0 / 9 6–9
US Open 2R 1R 1R 1R 3R QF 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 11 6–11
Win–loss 1–1 1–3 1–4 2–4 3–4 5–4 0–4 1–3 3–2 3–4 3–4 0 / 37 23–37
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A A A A A 1R A NH A 0 / 1 0–1
Miami Open A A A A QF F 1R A NH 1R 0 / 4 5–4
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A A A A A A NH A 0 / 0 0–0
Madrid Open A A A A A 2R A A NH A 0 / 1 1–1
Italian Open A A A A A 2R A A A A 0 / 1 1–1
Canadian Open A A A A A 1R A A NH A 0 / 1 0–1
Cincinnati Masters A A A A A A 2R 1R A 2R 0 / 3 2–3
Shanghai Masters A A A A A 1R A A NH 0 / 1 0–1
Paris Masters A 2R A A QF 2R A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Win–loss 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 3–2 7–6 1–3 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0 / 14 12–14
Career statistics
Tournaments 3 17 24 23 29 31 29 19 8 24 11 218
Titles 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4
Finals 0 3 1 3 0 2 3 1 0 0 0 13
Overall win–loss 2–3 15–16 13–23 17–22 20–29 32–31 21–28 10–19 6–9 11–24 7–11 154–214
Year-end ranking 79 53 65 55 52 30 65 100 74 98 182 42%

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Nicholas Monroe Player Activity". ATP World Tour.
  2. ^ "Jack Sock Has New Coach But Loses Again · Tennis-Prose.com". Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Sock Drops Monroe As Coach". March 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Nick Monroe Interview: Pro Doubles Player & Tennis Channel Analyst". November 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "Monroe Riding High on Late Doubles Breakthrough | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  6. ^ "Blumberg & Monroe Playing at Wimbledon". July 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "World TeamTennis Adds Stars Tiafoe, Puig, Roanic, Bouchard, & Sock As Rosters Set For 2020". WTT.com. June 16, 2020.
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