The final point needed a video review. When it was confirmed, the Rio crowd erupted — João Fonseca had his first ATP doubles title.
The 19-year-old from Rio de Janeiro paired with 42-year-old veteran Marcelo Melo to win the Rio Open doubles final on Sunday, beating the Dutch-German duo of Robin Haase and Constantin Frantzen 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 in a match that went the distance. André Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam champion, was courtside and presented the trophy.
For Melo, it was a second straight Rio Open doubles title after winning last year alongside Rafael Matos. For Fonseca, widely regarded as the brightest young talent in Brazilian tennis, it added another milestone to a season already rich with them.
The Brazilian pair had a strong run through the draw, knocking out second seeds Andrés Molteni and Máximo González of Argentina in the semifinals. But the final was a test of nerve. They dropped serve early in the first set before fighting back to take it 6-4, then lost the second 3-6 as Haase and Frantzen found their range on Melo’s serve.
The super tiebreak swung on momentum and crowd energy. Chants of “Brasil” filled the arena before the decider began, and Fonseca‘s aggressive serving combined with Melo’s net craft proved enough to close it out 10-8.
The 23-year age gap between the two champions told its own story — one of Brazilian tennis handing the torch forward, even if the elder is not quite done carrying it.