Text: Valeria Zukeran

Brazil’s big hopes of a gold medal in the Rio 2016 tennis tournament, Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, cruised through their first match the Rio Open, which they are using as an important preparatory step on the road to the Olympic Games. Melo, the no.1 player in the doubles world rankings, and Soares, who won the men's and mixed doubles titles at last month's Australian Open, overcame compatriots Orlando Luz and Fabiano de Paula 6-2 6-3 on Thursday (18 February) evening at the Rio Jockey Club.

Anyone for tennis? Check out our interactive infographic

But more important than the result was the innate understanding the two Brazilians seem to have. Melo and Soares have not played an official match together since September, but the old chemistry was evident. They have known each other since childhood, and speech is not always necessary for them to communicate. A hand touch to celebrate points, knowing glances, small whispers from time to time.

“We’ve known each other such a long time… several times during the match one already knew what the other was thinking, the way to play”

Marcelo Melo

“We talk when switching sides, comment on a move, say ‘we should have done that’ or ‘you can do this as I’m there’. This eliminates speaking between one point and the next,” said Melo. “It’s an issue that I always bring up when we play together: each one can express his opinion at the time, what he thinks. We accept it or, if we don’t, we say so – there’s no problem. This minimises conversations in the intervals between one point and the next, which are short.”

Brazil’s new tennis idol Marcelo Melo targets Olympic gold in Rio

Another thing that makes communication more efficient, according to Soares, is that both exchange ideas for some time before the match. “Afterwards, it’s more about Marcelo saying where he’s going to serve and me, where I’m going to position myself. As for the return patterns: we know each other very well, so conversing isn’t necessary. At some point we’ll say: ‘I’m going to do something different’, but as everything was going well, a lot of specific communication wasn’t needed.”

Rio 2016 tennis test event heralds new sporting era for Brazil

Soares and Melo touch hands during their opening-round victory (Rio Open/Fotojump)

The pair were satisfied with how they played on Thursday. “We managed to do what we needed to well,” said Soares. “Here in Rio, it’s how everyone says: this ball really flies, the game goes very quickly, and when it’s sunny, even more.”

The Brazilian duo will next face Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic and Austrian Dominic Thiem, the latter fresh from his singles triumph over Spain’s Rafael Nadal in last week's Argentina Open. Soares and Melo hope the home fans will create the lion’s den atmosphere they expect at the Rio 2016 Games.

Roger Federer says playing at Rio 2016 will be ‘wonderful’
Old friends Djokovic and Murray on collision course in battle for Olympic gold

Melo’s first match in Brazil after climbing to the top of the ATP doubles ranking was marked by the presentation of a celebratory plaque from the organisers of the event. He expressed his gratitude in the following Facebook post: