# Ricardo Mello

Ricardo Mello (born 21 December 1980) is a Brazilian retired tennis player. His preference is for clay courts. He has had the occasional win in hard court tournaments. His best singles rank was No. 50 in 2005. He won one singles tournament (Delray Beach in 2004) and reached the semifinals three times at the Brasil Open. He played most of his tennis in Challenger tournaments, where he won 15 singles titles and three doubles titles.

## Career
### Early days

Ricardo was born in Campinas, Brazil and started to play tennis at the age of three. At 15, he drew a wild card into a tournament in his hometown. He lost to veteran and French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten. However, he gained his first ATP career points. In 1999, Ricardo won his first Futures events in Uruguay and Paraguay.

### 2004

Mello won his lone ATP title at Delray Beach, defeating Vincent Spadea in the final. One of his first major feats was qualifying for the main singles draw in the Australian Open that year, his first participation in a Grand Slam tournament; he lost to #8 seed David Nalbandian in the first round.

### 2006

At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships, Mello played top seed Andy Murray. Murray was in control of the first set, winning 6–1, but Mello won the second set 6–1. Mello took the third and final to a tiebreak, after having three match points. He lost in the tiebreak 5–7.
At the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, Mello faced Jean-René Lisnard in the first round and won in straight sets. In the second round, he faced 14th seed Vincent Spadea and lost.

## Sponsorship

The sponsor for his clothes, shoes and racquets was Babolat.

## ATP Tour Career Finals
### Singles: 1 (1 title)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–0)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoor (1–0)
* Indoor (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 2004 | Delray Beach, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Vincent Spadea | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–3 |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
### Singles: 30 (21–9)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (15–8)
* ITF Futures (6–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (14–7)
* Clay (7–2)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Aug 1999 | Uruguay F2, Jose-Ignacio | Futures | Clay | Marcos Daniel | 6–7, 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Oct 1999 | Paraguay F3, Asunción | Futures | Clay | Gergely Kisgyörgy | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 3–0 | Jun 2000 | Mexico F3, Merida | Futures | Hard | Ignacio Hirigoyen | 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–0 | Sep 2000 | Brazil F1, Vitoria | Futures | Clay | Júlio Silva | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–1 | Feb 2001 | USA F4, Corpus Christi | Futures | Hard | Damien Roberts | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 5–1 | Apr 2001 | Brazil F2, Teresopolis | Futures | Clay | Rodrigo Cerdera | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–1 | May 2001 | USA F11, Vero Beach | Futures | Clay | Thomas Dupre | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–1 | Jul 2001 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Alexandre Simoni | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| Loss | 7–2 | Dec 2001 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Kristian Pless | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 7–3 | Mar 2002 | Salinas, Ecuador | Challenger | Hard | Iván Miranda | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 8–3 | Jul 2002 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Maximilian Abel | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–3 |
| Win | 9–3 | Aug 2002 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Alexandre Simoni | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 9–4 | Oct 2003 | Quito, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Giovanni Lapentti | 3–6, 7–6$^{(10–8)}$, 3–6 |
| Win | 10–4 | Nov 2003 | Puebla, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Markus Hantschk | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10–5 | Aug 2004 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Janko Tipsarević | 4–6, 7–5, 4–6 |
| Win | 11–5 | Aug 2004 | Gramado, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Janko Tipsarević | 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 12–5 | Jan 2005 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Giovanni Lapentti | 4–6, 6–2, 7–6$^{(7–0)}$ |
| Win | 13–5 | Apr 2006 | Florianópolis, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Diego Junqueira | 6–3, 5–7, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$ |
| Win | 14–5 | Jul 2006 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Ivo Klec | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 14–6 | Mar 2008 | Leon, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Bruno Echagaray | 0–6, 6–3, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |
| Loss | 14–7 | Jul 2008 | Manta, Ecuador | Challenger | Hard | Giovanni Lapentti | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 15–7 | Jan 2009 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Paul Capdeville | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 16–7 | Aug 2009 | Brasília, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Juan Ignacio Chela | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 6–4 |
| Win | 17–7 | Jan 2010 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Eduardo Schwank | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 17–8 | Apr 2010 | Curitiba, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Dominik Meffert | 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 2–6 |
| Loss | 17–9 | Aug 2010 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Izak van der Merwe | 6–7$^{(6–8)}$, 3–6 |
| Win | 18–9 | Aug 2010 | Salvador, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Thiago Alves | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 19–9 | Jan 2011 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Rafael Camilo | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 20–9 | Oct 2011 | Recife, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Rogério Dutra Silva | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–3 |
| Win | 21–9 | Oct 2011 | São José do Rio Preto, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Schwank | 6–4, 6–2 |

### Doubles: 16 (3–13)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (3–12)
* ITF Futures (0–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–6)
* Clay (2–7)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jun 2001 | Brazil F3, São Paulo | Futures | Clay | Marcos Daniel | Diego Veronelli Adriano Ferreira | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jul 2001 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Ricardo Schlachter | Alejandro Hernández André Sá | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–3 | Sep 2001 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Marcos Daniel | Adriano Ferreira Edgardo Massa | walkover |
| Loss | 0–4 | Jun 2002 | Andorra Challenger, Andorra | Challenger | Hard | Hermes Gamonal | Shaun Rudman Wesley Moodie | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 0–5 | Jun 2003 | Andorra Challenger, Andorra | Challenger | Hard | Alexandre Simoni | Rik de Voest Tuomas Ketola | 4–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–5 | Oct 2003 | Quito, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Alexandre Simoni | Ricardo Schlachter Hugo Armando | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–6 | Jul 2004 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Henrique Mello | Alejandro Hernández André Sá | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–6 | Jul 2004 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Iván Miranda | Alejandro Hernández André Sá | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–7 | Jul 2005 | Biella, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Carlos Berlocq | Tom Vanhoudt Gabriel Trifu | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–8 | May 2006 | Tunica Resorts, United States | Challenger | Clay | Hugo Armando | Jeff Morrison Bobby Reynolds | 6–3, 6–7$^5-7)}$, [9–11] |
| Loss | 2–9 | Oct 2007 | Quito, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Hugo Armando | Brian Dabul Marcos Daniel | 6–4, 5–7, [7–10] |
| Loss | 2–10 | Sep 2008 | Quito, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Caio Zampieri | Leonardo Mayer Hugo Armando | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2–11 | Jul 2009 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Marcos Daniel | Sebastián Prieto Horacio Zeballos | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 2–12 | Aug 2009 | Brasília, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Caio Zampieri | Rodrigo Guidolin Marcelo Demoliner | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 3–12 | Nov 2001 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Franco Ferreiro | Diego Junqueira David Marrero | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–13 | Aug 2010 | Brasília, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Caio Zampieri | Franco Ferreiro André Sá | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 3–6 |

## Grand Slam performance timeline

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| Australian Open | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | 29% |
| French Open | A | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | A | Q1 | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Wimbledon | A | Q2 | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | A | Q2 | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
| US Open | Q3 | Q2 | Q3 | 3R | 2R | Q2 | Q1 | Q1 | Q3 | 2R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0 / 17 | 7–17 | 29% |
| Year-end ranking | 133 | 144 | 128 | 71 | 111 | 134 | 257 | 198 | 151 | 76 | 85 | 286 | | | |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 ||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | Q1 | 1R | A | A | A | Q2 | 2R | 2R | Q1 | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% |
| Miami Open | A | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | 2R | Q2 | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | 33% |
| Madrid | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Toronto/Montreal | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0 / 11 | 6–11 | 35% |