Joao Fonseca and Marcelo Melo all smiles after doubles win in Rio de Janeiro | ATP Tour
rio de janeiro
Fonseca and Melo all smiles after doubles win in Rio de Janeiro
Tabilo among the top eight
February 19, 2026
Rio Open hosted by Claro
Marcelo Melo and Joao Fonseca compete in the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
Written by ATP Staff
Brazilians Joao Fonseca and Marcelo Melo stunned their home crowd with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over second seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni at the Rio Open hosted by Claro on Wednesday.
Infosys ATP statistics show that Fonseca and Melo used their excellent serve to hit 82% of their first serve hits and won 84% of their points.
A wild card in the ATP 500 draw, Melo is 23 years older than Fonseca. They will next face German players Jacob Schnatter and Mark Woerner, or fellow Brazilians Gustavo Heide and Luis Miguel.
Fonseca is seeded third in the singles draw and will seek a place in the quarterfinals against Peru’s Ignacio Busse on Thursday.
In other action on Wednesday, Alejandro Tabilo advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2 victory over lucky loser Francesco Passaro. Tabilo reached the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires last week, advancing to the tour-level quarterfinals in consecutive weeks for the first time.
Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo also advanced to the quarter-finals with a narrow victory in three sets. This was the most important match in his career. The 24-year-old defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 in 2 hours and 49 minutes. Serendolo is ranked No. 68 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is on track to hit a career high.
Vit Kopriva beat Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-3, 6-1, while top seed Thiago Agustin Tirante beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 3-1 after withdrawing due to injury.
