Bruno Soares of Brazil plays a shot in front of Jamie Murray of Britain as they play against Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Ivan Dodig of Croatia (not pictured) in the men's doubles final of the Rogers Cup on July 31, 2016.Dan Hamilton
So there was Marcelo Melo, days before the 2016 Summer Olympics were to open in his home country, Brazil, playing the Rogers Cup men's doubles final against countryman Bruno Soares.
Brazil's hopes for a medal in men's tennis will hinge largely on the partnership of Melo and Soares, the world's sixth and ninth ranked doubles players, respectively. But on Sunday, they were on opposite sides of the net, Melo and his usual partner, Ivan Dodig of Croatia, registering a 6-4, 6-4 straight-sets win over Soares and Britain's Jamie Murray.
Rivals on Sunday, Melo and Soares will be partners at the Olympics and among the favourites in the doubles competition.
According to Melo, it will be easy for him and Soares to renew their partnership.
"We have known each other since we were six years old," Melo said. "We have played with and against each other many times. We practise together. We have the same physio. We live five minutes from each other. So we're kind of brothers, without being brothers. We play Davis Cup together, the Olympics in London – we just don't play on tour."
It was a match that began on Centre Court and was pushed over to the Grandstand after a rain delay, so the singles final between Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic could go on court, as scheduled.
Melo acknowledged, though, that it was a little odd to play against Soares in Sunday's final.
"We keep our rivalry inside the court," Melo said. "Outside the court, you have to be friends. You have to cheer for each other, because it will be good for tennis, for Brazil, for everybody."
Melo was originally scheduled to fly out of Toronto on Saturday, but his presence in the final obliged him to miss his flight. Since then, he's been trying desperately to make new arrangements. As he left the court Sunday afternoon, it looked as if he might have to fly to Europe to get a connecting flight to Rio.
"It might be the only way," Melo said. "I tried from Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago. There was not one single seat – economy, first class, it didn't matter.
"But it's going to be special to be in Brazil. Brazilians, we love sport, so we want to do a good event. For me, the people who are going to go there are really going to enjoy it. It's going to be really fantastic."