The 21st century
Brazil · born Belo Horizonte, 1983 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 2017 with Łukasz Kubot, the first Brazilian man to win a Wimbledon title
All playersBack to the rankings
13-11
Fifth set of the 2017 Wimbledon doubles final, won in 281 minutes
14-0
Grass record with Kubot in 2017: 's-Hertogenbosch, Halle and Wimbledon
3
Halle doubles titles: 2017 and 2018 with Kubot, 2023 with John Peers
28-26
Fifth set against Hanley and Ullyett in 2007, the longest set in Wimbledon men's doubles history
6 ft 8 in
Height, among the tallest men to play the Championships
Marcelo Pinheiro Davi de Melo was born in Belo Horizonte on 23 September 1983 into a family in which everyone played tennis, and he started at seven. He played football until he was 15, and his height, 6 ft 8 in, earned him the nickname Girafa. His brother Daniel became his coach. He made his name in doubles, first with André Sá, with whom he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007, and then with Bruno Soares and Ivan Dodig.
With Dodig he reached the Wimbledon final in 2013 and won the French Open in 2015, the first Grand Slam title for a Brazilian man in doubles, and in November 2015 he became the first Brazilian to reach No. 1 in the doubles rankings. In 2017, with the Pole Łukasz Kubot, he had his greatest year: six titles, including 's-Hertogenbosch, Halle and Wimbledon in a 14-0 run on grass, and the year-end No. 1 team ranking.
He kept winning on grass for years afterwards, at Halle with Kubot in 2018 and John Peers in 2023, and at Stuttgart in 2024 with his compatriot Rafael Matos, at the age of 40. He has played four Olympic Games for Brazil and represented his country in the Davis Cup from 2008.
| Wimbledon final 2017 | Seeded fourth with Łukasz Kubot; beat the 16th seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavić 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 13-11 in 281 minutes, after saving two match points in the fifth set. The match ran so late that the ladies' doubles final did not start until 9.28pm |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2017 route | Won two five-set matches in the early rounds and the semi-final against Henri Kontinen and John Peers 9-7 in the fifth |
| Wimbledon final 2013 | With Ivan Dodig, seeded 12th, lost to the top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court |
| Wimbledon 2007 | Second round with André Sá: beat Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 28-26 over four rain-hit days, 5 hours 58 minutes and 102 games, at the time the longest fifth set ever played at the Championships, and still the most games in a men's doubles match there |
| Grass titles 2017 | 's-Hertogenbosch: beat the second seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram in the final. Halle: beat Alexander and Mischa Zverev 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Men's doubles | with Łukasz Kubot |
| Halle | ||
| 2017 | Men's doubles | with Łukasz Kubot |
| 2018 | Men's doubles | with Łukasz Kubot |
| 2023 | Men's doubles | with John Peers |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2017 | Men's doubles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | with Łukasz Kubot |
| Stuttgart | ||
| 2024 | Men's doubles | with Rafael Matos |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"But I have to say Wimbledon is Wimbledon, the tournament I dream about since I was young."
The person behind the player.
Belo Horizonte
His whole family played tennis, so he started at seven. He played football until he was 15 and admired Ronaldo, and on tour he is known as Girafa, the giraffe, because of his height. His brother Daniel became his coach.
Source: ATP Tour biographyWimbledon, 2007
In the second round in 2007, the year Centre Court had no roof during its rebuilding, Melo and André Sá beat Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 28-26 in the fifth set. Rain spread the match over four days; it lasted 5 hours 58 minutes and ran to 102 games, still the most in a Wimbledon men's doubles match.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon, 2017
Melo said everyone, especially in Brazil, knew how much he wanted Wimbledon. "The year I won the French Open, I said my focus was to win here," he said, adding that Roland Garros was special to Brazilians because of Gustavo Kuerten, but that Wimbledon was the tournament he had dreamed about since he was young.
Source: Irish ExaminerWimbledon, 2017
The men's doubles final ran for almost five hours, with a ten-minute break at 11-11 in the fifth set to close the roof, so the ladies' doubles final did not begin until 9.28pm. It was over by 10.24pm.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025; Irish ExaminerBrazil, 2017
After the Wimbledon season the Brazilian Olympic Committee named him its best male athlete of 2017, and he and Kubot were voted ATP doubles team of the year. A back injury kept him out of the 2019 Australian Open and ended a run of 47 Grand Slam events in a row.
Source: ATP Tour biographyFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
_(52883157216).jpg){kind=link}