Rui Machado (born April 10, 1984) is a Portuguese retired professional tennis player. In October 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking at 59, at the time the highest ranking a Portuguese player had ever held (since surpassed by João Sousa, Gastão Elias and Nuno Borges).
At the age of six, Machado was first introduced to tennis when he attended lessons at a local club. He began participating in regional competitions, and five years later he was ranked no. 1 in the initiated players national ranking. In 1998, he was singles runner-up and team champion at the national juvenile championship, this time competing for the Faro Tennis Centre. One year later, Machado decided to attend a summer training camp of the Catalan Tennis Federation, in Barcelona. There he took the decision of pursuing a professional tennis career and with his family's help, he kept on training and finished his secondary education in Spain. Machado is of mixed heritage â Portuguese and Cape Verdean.
In 2001, he won the junior national singles championship and was runner-up for the Catalan regional singles title. In July, he earned his first ATP ranking point at a Spanish leg of the ITF Futures circuit. Despite being accepted to study economics at a Catalan university, Machado decided to concentrate his efforts on tennis and initiate a fully professional career.
Machado turned professional in 2002 and until 2005, Machado competed exclusively in the Futures circuit, where he collected two doubles titles. In April of that year, he entered his first ATP Challenger Series event in Olbia, Italy, ranked no. 322. Machado did not pass the first round, losing to ranked no. 245. Steve Darcis by 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ3, but his first participation in an ATP Tour event soon followed, as he was selected to enter the Estoril Open, an ATP International Series event, with a wildcard, losing in the first round to ranked no. 94. AgustÃÂn Calleri by 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ1. He followed that with two straight Challenger quarterfinal runs in France and Italy, beating in the process former top-60 players ÃÂlex Calatrava 6âÂÂ0, 6âÂÂ1 and Juan Antonio MarÃÂn 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ3. Peaking at a career-high no. 242 in October, Machado closed the year by reaching three consecutive Futures finals, and grabbing his first singles title and third doubles titles in Gran Canaria, Spain (although in different tournaments).
In early 2006, Machado suffered wrist and knee injuries. A nearly two-year competitive stoppage made him drop to an all-time low no. 1512, in July 2007, despite winning two more Futures doubles titles. Attempting to return to his previous level, Machado achieved modest results that helped him, nonetheless, to climb back to no. 733, at the end of 2007.
Machado made his definitive comeback to high-level competition in early 2008 with an impressive winning streak of 26 consecutive matches in the Futures circuit. Along this run, he won four consecutive finals (Bari, Faro, Lagos, and Albufeira). He finally lost a semifinal match two weeks later in Zaragoza to no. 264 Pere Riba 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ2, but avenged this loss in the following week in Loja, beating Riba in the final 6âÂÂ3, 3âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ1, for a fifth Future singles title in six consecutive tries and sixth overall. Machado would add yet another one in May, beating Antonio Pastorino in a hard-fought three-set final in Napoli 6âÂÂ4, 3âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ6. This string of victories boosted Machado's ranking by 400 places to no. 328. In the meantime, he helped Portugal to a 4âÂÂ1 defeat of Tunisia in their Euro/African Zone â Group II Davis Cup match in Estoril. The following week, he received a wildcard to the Estoril Open, but despite defeating world no. 22 Ivo Karlovià6âÂÂ4, 1âÂÂ0 ret. in the first round, Machado bowed out to no. 101 Florent Serra 7âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ1.
The remainder of Machado's season included mostly participations in Challenger events, where his best record included two semifinal places in Cancún and Córdoba, but also his debut in Grand Slam qualification round matches. In June, he was unable to overcome the first qualifying round of Wimbledon against no. 383 Richard Bloomfield 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ5, but later in August, he went through the qualification, defeating former Olympic champion no. 121 Nicolás Massú 6âÂÂ2, 3âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ3, in the process, to reach his first ever Gram Slam main round, where he would lose in a battled five-set second round match before no. 13 Fernando Verdasco 6âÂÂ7, 7âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ0. This participation earned Machado 100 points, his biggest share of ATP points in a single event, moving him up 22 places in the overall ranking to no. 178. He closed the year with a new career-high singles ranking of 153rd, achieving a net improvement of 529 places from his 2008 starting rank (732nd).
A participation in the Costa do SauÃÂpe 250 Series event opened Machado's new season. He survived the qualifying round and, in the main round, defeated world no. 75 Iván Navarro, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ1, only to lose in the next round to Eduardo Schwank, by two tiebreak-deciding sets after having won the first. In late February, Machado won his first Challenger-level tournament in Meknes, Morocco, surpassing no. 242 David Marrero, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ3.
In March, he was unable to impose his game once again in Moroccan soil, at the Marrakech Challenger. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the Miami Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 110 Andrey Golubev. At the Athens Challenger, he earned his second Challenger singles title along with â¬12,250, his biggest career singles prize money and the biggest tournament won by a Portuguese player, defeating no. 168 Daniel Muñoz de la Nava by 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ6 . In the doubles, he was losing finalist partnering with Jesse Huta Galung.
In May, in his third appearance at the Estoril Open, he lost his first round match 7âÂÂ5, 1âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ5 against no. 69 ÃÂscar Hernández. He nevertheless reached an all-time high rank no. 123 and would soon manage to go through the 2009 French Open qualifiers and past the first round, only to be beaten by no. 12 seed Fernando González 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ3. Despite being eliminated in the first round of the Czech Open by eventual runner-up no. 90 Steve Darcis 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ4, Machado climbed to a new lifetime best singles ranking of no. 116. He contested the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon, but lost in the second round to no. 201 LukÃ¡à ¡ Lacko 1âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2, 8âÂÂ6.
In July, Machado played for Portugal in the 2009 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II. He recorded the largest win in tennis history, defeating Algeria's Valentin Rahmine 6âÂÂ0, 6âÂÂ0, 6âÂÂ0.
In August, Machado qualified to the US Open as a lucky loser. He lost 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ4, 2âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2 against no. 62 Daniel Köllerer.
Machado began the season in the Australian Open qualifying tournament, where he lost in the second round 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ3 to no. 300 Alex Bogomolov Jr.
In February, at the Brasil Open, in Costa do SauÃÂpe, he upset no. 89 Marcos Daniel by 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ6 and lost in the second round to no. 41 Igor Andreev by 6âÂÂ3, 5âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ4. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the Miami Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 155 Ivan Dodig by 7âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ5. A week later he won the Napoli Challenger defeating no. 204 Federico Delbonis 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ4 in the final.
Machado entered the Estoril Open as a wildcard, in virtue of his low ranking, but he eventually achieved his career's best result by reaching the quarter finals. He paved his way by defeating higher ranked players: Nicolás Massú (92nd; 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ4) and Michaà  PrzysiÃÂà ¼ny (97st; 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ4), losing only to his friend Frederico Gil (133rd; 4âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ3). With this successful campaign, on May 10, Machado climbed 6 places in the world rankings to become no. 108.
He contested the qualifying tournament at 2010 French Open, but lost in the second round to no. 245 Alexandre Sidorenko 7âÂÂ6, 5âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ3. He also contested the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon, but lost in the first round to no. 256 Tatsuma Ito 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ3 and in US Open he also lost in the second qualifying round to no. 220 Ryan Harrison 5âÂÂ7, 7âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ3.
In October, he won the Asunción Challenger defeating no. 138 Ramón Delgado 6âÂÂ2, 3âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ5 in the final.
Machado began the season losing in the Aircel Chennai Open in the first round to Alejandro Falla (105th) by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ3. Later at the Australian Open, he lost in the first round by 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ3, 5âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ1 to Santiago Giraldo (64th).
In February, at the Movistar Open, he lost in Second Round to no. 30 Thomaz Bellucci by 7âÂÂ5, 1âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ1. At the Brasil Open, in Costa do SauÃÂpe, he upset no. 86 Filippo Volandri by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ1 and lost in Quarter Finals to no. 13 Nicolás Almagro by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ4. A week later, he lost in the first round of Copa Claro to no. 39 Juan Ignacio Chela by 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ2.
In March, he won the Marrakech Challenger defeating no. 267 Maxime Teixeira 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ4 in the final.
In April, in Casablanca, he lost in the first round to no. 103 Rubén RamÃÂrez Hidalgo by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ1. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 180 Bernard Tomic by 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ4. In Barcelona Open he achieved the second round as a lucky-loser where he lost to no. 48 Kei Nishikori by 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ4. Machado entered the Estoril Open as a wildcard, in virtue of his low ranking, but he eventually qualified directly, for the first time, because of pre-tournament drop-outs. He lost in the first round to no. 63 Victor HÃÂnescu by 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ3.
In May, at the French Open he couldn't past the first round, he lost to no. 83 Julien Benneteau by 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ0.
In June, he won the Rijeka Challenger defeating no. 154 Grega à ½emlja 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ0 in the final. He also contested the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon, but lost in the first round to no. 163 Robert Farah 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ2.
In July, he won the Poznaà  Challenger defeating no. 164 Jerzy Janowicz 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ3 in the final. A week later, he lost in the first round of Croatia Open in Umag to no. 38 Fabio Fognini by 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ3.
In August, he reached the semi-final in the Trani Challenger and he lost in the first round of US Open to the world no. 41 Robin Haase by 6âÂÂ0, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ4 in 1h32m.
In September, he reached the quarter-finals in the Genova Challenger and he won the Szczecin Challenger defeating no. 104 ÃÂric Prodon 2âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ2 in the final in 2h53m. In the semi-finals, he achieved the biggest win of his career winning the first seed of the tournament and world no. 54 Albert Montañés by 6âÂÂ2, 0âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ0 in 1h40m. After this, he broke the previous Portuguese singles ranking record by reaching the 61st position at the ATP rankings table. A day after he won the final, he arrived in Bucharest and he lost that same day in the first round of the Bucharest Open to no. 86 Filippo Volandri by 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ3 in 1h25m. A week later he reached the semi-final in the Madrid Challenger. After this, he broke again his previous Portuguese singles ranking record by reaching the 59th position at the ATP rankings table.
In October, he reached the semi-finals in the São José do Rio Preto Challenger.
In November, he reached the semi-finals in the São Leopoldo Challenger. His last tournament of the season was the 2011 ATP Challenger Tour Finals in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the first edition of the event. Machado qualified as the leader of the ATP Challenger Tour ranking. In the first game, he defeated the no. 109 Matthias Bachinger by 3âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(4)</sup>, 6âÂÂ4 in almost 3h. In the second game, he defeated the no. 95 Dudi Sela by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ2 in only 58m. In the last game of the round-robin group, Machado lost to no. 103 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ0 in 1h23m. With this result Machado finish 3rd in his group with the same points of two others players qualified for the semi-finals and he was eliminated by game difference.
Machado began the season losing in the Qatar Open in the first round to Gaël Monfils (16th) by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ3 in 1h21m. A week later, at Auckland he lost in the first round by 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(3)</sup> to Thomaz Bellucci (38th) in 1h43m. Later at the Australian Open, he lost in the first round by 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ2 to David Ferrer (5th) in 1h44m.
In February, Machado lost in the first round to the Spanish qualifier no. 128 Rubén RamÃÂrez Hidalgo, the oldest player in the main draw at 34, by 6âÂÂ3, 1âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2 in two hours in the Brasil Open, in São Paulo. A week later, he lost in the first round of Copa Claro to no. 12 Gilles Simon by 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ5. The third-seeded Frenchman converted four of his nine break point opportunities against Machado to wrap up the victory in two hours and five minutes. A week later, at Abierto Mexicano Telcel he suffer his sixth consecutive lost in a first round of a tournament to no. 64 Jérémy Chardy by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(4)</sup>, 6âÂÂ3 in 2h.
In March, at Indian Wells, Machado lost again in the first round to no. 92 Guillermo GarcÃÂa López by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(6)</sup>, 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2 in 2h36m.
In April, at Casablanca, Machado lost again in the first round to the Spanish qualifier no. 544 Sergio Gutiérrez Ferrol by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ1 in 1h11m. A week later, he achieved the final of the Rome Challenger winning the first games of the season. In the final he lost in 2h45m to world no. 149 Roberto Bautista Agut by 6âÂÂ7<sup>(9)</sup>, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ3. A week later, at Barcelona Open he lost again in the first round to no. 102 Victor HÃÂnescu by 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(5)</sup> in 2h1m.
In May, at the Estoril Open Machado improved to 1âÂÂ10 on the year by beating in the first round wild card and friend no. 244 Pedro Sousa 6âÂÂ7<sup>(3)</sup>, 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ2 in just over two hours, despite hitting eight double faults. He then lost in the second round to the top seed and world no. 12 Juan MartÃÂn del Potro who got his Estoril Open title defence off to a fine start with a 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ0 victory in only 1h3m. Del Potro hit four aces and won 70 per cent of his service points. A week later, he achieved the semi-finals of the Roma Open. At the French Open he couldn't pass the first round, losing to no. 31 seed Kevin Anderson. The unheralded Portuguese player, who was 25 centimetres smaller than his opponent took Anderson to five sets, before losing by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(2)</sup>, 6âÂÂ7<sup>(6)</sup>, 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ1, 11âÂÂ9 in 4h50m in a match that was carried over from the previous day.
In June, at Wimbledon he couldn't pass the first round, losing to no. 126 Brian Baker by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(2)</sup>, 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ0 in 1h54m.
In August, returning from injury, he lost in the first round of US Open to the world no. 26 Fernando Verdasco by 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ4 in 1h40m.
Machado, started his year in February, after a long absence from injury, in Davis Cup against Alexis Klegou from Benim winning 2âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ0. He came back to the circuit, in a future in Vale do Lobo where he lost in the quarter finals. A week later, in a future in Loule, he achieved the final where he lost to Pedro Sousa by 5âÂÂ7, 6âÂÂ4, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(3)</sup>. A week later, in a future in Faro he defeated no. 308 and no. 1 seed Guillermo Olaso by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(3)</sup>, 6âÂÂ2. A week later, in the fourth future in Portugal, Guimarães, Machado achieved the quarter-finals.
In April, in Davis Cup he won with Gastão Elias the doubles game that give Portugal the decisive point to win the tie in the second round against Lithuania by 6âÂÂ3, 6âÂÂ0, 6âÂÂ2 in only 1h27m. He also played the Sunday match giving a 5âÂÂ0 advantage against Lukas Mugevicius by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ0. Later, he enter in the qualifying of his favourite tournament the Estoril Open, and he defeats no. 249 Igor Andreev by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(2)</sup>, 6âÂÂ1 in 1h31m. In the second round, he defeated world no. 385 Andis Juà ¡ka by 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ3 in 1h12m. Finally, in the third round, he qualified for the main draw by winning his match against 2nd seed and world no. 87 Thiemo de Bakker by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ2 in 1h15m. In the first round of the main draw, Machado lost to no. 54 Victor HÃÂnescu by 6âÂÂ4, 6âÂÂ4 in 1h40m.
In June, Machado won a future in Romania beating in the final no. 286 and no. 1 seed Guillermo Olaso by 6âÂÂ2, 6âÂÂ0 in 1h. A week later, in a future in Italy he achieved the semi-finals.
In August, Machado won a future in Polonia beating in the final no. 508 and no. 6 seed Benjamin Balleret by 7âÂÂ6<sup>(5)</sup>, 6âÂÂ1 and achieved 2 semi-finals in 2 futures in Polonia.
In September, in Davis Cup he won the last singles game that give Portugal the decisive point to win the tie in the third round against Moldova against Maxim Dubarenco by 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ1, 6âÂÂ3 and that allow Portugal to play in division I in the next year.
This section contains Machado's winâÂÂloss record against players who have been ranked 20th or higher in the world rankings during their careers.
Machado debuted for the Portugal Davis Cup team in 2003 and played 34 matches in 27 ties. His singles record was 16âÂÂ16 and his doubles record was 1âÂÂ1 (17âÂÂ17 overall). His final participation was in the 2015 edition.