Melo on Fonseca: 'Everybody knows how good he can be'

Brazilian Marcelo Melo won one of the biggest titles of his career in February at the Rio Open presented by Claro, partnering countryman Rafael Matos to the ATP 500 trophy. It was an emotional scene at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, with the fans fully behind their home favourites.

The crowd for two of the matches included the country’s biggest hope: Joao Fonseca. Millions of fans around the world have followed every step he has taken in recent months. But despite the disappointment of losing his opening match of the tournament, the 18-year-old returned to site to support his friends.

“It says a lot. Normally, the players don't want to go back to the courts after they lost in the tournament. We move on to the next tournament,” Melo told ATPTour.com. “But he came back there to support us at the semi-final and the final, and it says a lot about his character, how he is trying to support other players, his friends.

“I felt it was very nice [of] him. Of course we did not ask him to come, because we know the nightmare for him with all the security, but he put in the effort to come and it was very nice.”

Fonseca did not merely watch, either. He was out of his seat to try to help encourage the Brazilians.

“You can see it is a pure reaction, a natural reaction,” Melo said. “Me and the Brazilians loved to see it, because as many Brazilians are playing at a high level, [it] is better for everybody, for tennis, for the fans to watch more Brazilians. So, to see each other pushing to get better, it's always good.

“I got so many messages with the video of his reaction. I was happy. I told him I was very happy for him coming and watching us. It actually makes a difference.”

Watch Fonseca's reaction:

Fonseca began competing for his country in Davis Cup last year and Melo, who has long enjoyed representing Brazil, got to know the teen better through their time together on the team.

On the surface, there is a huge age gap between the two — Melo first entered the PIF ATP Rankings in 1999, while Fonseca was born in 2006. Melo jokingly recalled asking him if he knows what a fax is.

“Sometimes I don't think it matters because we will do the same things. We're playing the same tournaments. We have the same job, and we share experiences,” Melo said. “I have been on Tour for many, many, many years.

“I can share a lot of experience for myself and he's there, open to learn, asking a couple things, but it doesn't matter. I can ask him as well to learn. I always think you can learn from each other. It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter the ranking you have."

Melo has been impressed with Fonseca on the court, too. Last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion has maintained his rapid ascent into 2025, stunning Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open, winning his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires and an ATP Challenger Tour 175 trophy in Phoenix.

“Everybody knows how good he can be. He won very difficult matches like Andrey this year in Australia. There's not anyone who comes in and beats the guy like Andrey in the Grand Slam. I hope he can achieve whatever his dream is,” Melo said. “But I also like a lot the way they are doing [things around him]. I got to know much better [his] team. Everyone is fantastic. The guys are [great], the way they think, the way that they set up the team to move slow, but with a solid foundation.

“I think it's going to be very good for him as well. I think he's on the right path.”

Melo is known for his doubles acumen, but is plenty familiar with what it takes to be a top singles player. One of his closest friends is Alexander Zverev, the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. According to the 39-time tour-level doubles titlist, Fonseca has a quality similar to Carlos Alcaraz.

“He’d rather take the game, take the match and win or not. He does not wait for the opponent, maybe to miss or lose,” Melo said. “This is a quality sometimes you are born with. I think Alcaraz has this as well. A couple professional Top-10 players have this. They go for it, and they try to search…

“Tennis is unpredictable, you don't know. But for sure, if he keeps doing this way, he's on the right path. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.”

When Melo was rising, he was inspired by Gustavo Kuerten, the lone Brazilian who reached World No. 1. Melo and his countrymen saw what ‘Guga’ accomplished and believed they could do great things, too. To the 41-year-old, Fonseca has a chance to be a role model in that mould.

“I think the way he plays, [he] brings some emotional things to believe he's going to be a Grand Slam champion, number one,” Melo said. “It's too early to say, of course, but it's good to have a dream like that.”