Fernando Meligeni
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| Country (sports) |  Brazil |
|---|---|
| Residence | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Born | April 12, 1971 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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| Turned pro | 1990 |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Plays | Left-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $2,558,867 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 202–217 (ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 25 (October 11, 1999) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1997) |
| French Open | SF (1999) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2001) |
| US Open | 3R (1997) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | SF - 4th (1996) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 63–64 (ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | No. 34 (November 3, 1997) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | SF (2000) |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Tennis | ||
| Representing Brazil |
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| Pan American Games | ||
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2003 Santo Domingo | Men's Singles |
Fernando Ariel Meligeni (born April 12, 1971), nicknamed Fininho (Portuguese for little thin) is a former professional tennis player from Brazil. He won 3 singles titles and reached the semi-finals of both the 1999 French Open and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Personal life
Meligeni was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but moved with his family to São Paulo, Brazil, when he was four years old.
Tennis career
Juniors
As a junior, he won the traditional Orange Bowl in 1989, finishing No. 3 in the world junior rankings in the same year.
Pro tour
Meligeni turned professional in 1990, opting for the Brazilian nationality.
He won his first ATP Tour singles title in 1995, at the Swedish Open in Båstad, Sweden. In 1996, Meligeni won his second ATP Tour singles title in Pinehurst, North Carolina, defeating veteran Swede Mats Wilander in the final.
In 1996, ranked 93rd of the ATP Rankings, Meligeni was one off the 64 competitors that would directly enter the upcoming tennis tournament of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Withdrawals due to injuries and personal decisions gave him an alternate spot. With four wins over higher ranked players, Meligeni reached the semi finals, where he was defeated by Spain's Sergi Bruguera. In the Bronze medal game, he lost to Leander Paes of India.[1][2][3]
In 1998, Meligeni won his third and last ATP Tour singles title in Prague, Czech Republic, beating then World No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov from Russia on the way.
Meligeni reached his peak in the following year, with a strong performance at the 1999 French Open in Paris, France. He defeated Justin Gimelstob, Younes El Aynaoui as well as seeds No. 3 Patrick Rafter, from Australia, No. 14 Félix Mantilla, from Spain, and No. 6 Àlex Corretja, also from Spain, only to fall in the semi-finals to Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev. This was his best Grand Slam singles result and led him to a career-high ranking of World No. 25.
He was also a member of the Brazilian Davis Cup team, with an overall record of 13–16.
In addition to his three singles titles, Meligeni also won 7 doubles titles in the ATP Tour, most of them partnering countryman Gustavo Kuerten.
Meligeni retired from professional tennis in 2003, playing his last match against Marcelo Ríos from Chile in the final of the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, which he won in three sets.
Two years later, he was nominated captain of the Brazilian Davis Cup team, but resigned in January 2007 due to political differences with the Brazilian Tennis Confederation. During his period as a captain, he collected a 5–1 W/L record in ties. Despite the positive record, his popularity as a captain among the local press and fans wasn't always high, due to the easy opposition faced by the Brazilian team in the Americas Group; the controversial decisions he took when selecting the players to represent the squad, insisting in players that were out of shape, like Flávio Saretta and Gustavo Kuerten, and sidelining the then best-ranked Brazilians in the ATP, Marcos Daniel and Thiago Alves; the lack of receptiveness to criticism; and reported difficulty to control the harmony between the players.
Off the court, Meligeni has also been a host for TV show MTV Sports aired by MTV Brasil in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), as well as having guest appearances in radio shows and as a commentator for tennis matches. Since 2014, Meligeni has worked as a tennis commentator for ESPN Brazil
Olympic finals
Singles: 1
- Bronze medal final
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th place | 1996 |  Atlanta |
Hard |  Leander Paes |
6–3, 2–6, 4–6 |
Titles (10)
Singles (3)
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| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | February 27, 1995 | Mexico City, Mexico | Clay |  Thomas Muster |
6–7, 5–7 |
| Winner | 1. | July 10, 1995 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay |  Christian Ruud |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2. | May 6, 1996 | Pinehurst, North Carolina, U.S. | Clay |  Mats Wilander |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 3. | April 27, 1998 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay |  Sláva Doseděl |
6–1, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2. | September 10, 2001 | Costa do Sauípe, Brazil | Hard | Jan Vacek |
6–2, 6–7(2–7), 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | February 25, 2002 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay |  Carlos Moyà |
6–7(4–7), 6–7(4–7) |
Doubles (7)
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| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | November 10, 1996 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
 Dinu Pescariu Albert Portas |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 2. | April 7, 1997 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
 Andrea Gaudenzi Filippo Messori |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 3. | June 9, 1997 | Bologna, Italy | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
Dave Randall Jack Waite |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Winner | 4. | July 14, 1997 | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
Donald Johnson Francisco Montana |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 5. | October 27, 1997 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay |  Luis Lobo |
 Karim Alami Maurice Ruah |
6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 6. | July 6, 1998 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Gustavo Kuerten |
Daniel Orsanic Cyril Suk |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Winner | 7. | March 22, 1999 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Jaime Oncins |
Massimo Ardinghi Vincenzo Santopadre |
6–2, 6–3 |
References
External links
- Fernando Meligeni at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- {{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:If preview/configuration' not found.
- Fernando Meligeni at the Davis Cup
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Brazilian Sportsmen of the Year 2003 |
Succeeded by Vanderlei de Lima |
- Articles with Portuguese-language external links
- ITF template using numeric ID
- 1971 births
- Argentine emigrants to Brazil
- Brazilian male tennis players
- Brazilian people of Argentine descent
- Brazilian people of Italian descent
- Living people
- Naturalized citizens of Brazil
- Olympic tennis players of Brazil
- People from Buenos Aires
- Sportspeople from São Paulo (city)
- Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2003 Pan American Games
