Brazilian tennis sensation, João Fonseca will face Argentine Frederico Augustín Gómez in the first round of the qualifying phase of the Australian Open, as defined, this Sunday (5), by the organization of the tournament, the first Grand Slam of the year. The 18-year-old Rio native’s opponent is seeded number 29 and 137th in the rankings.
The match is scheduled for 8pm (Brasília time) this Monday (6). In case of victory over Gómez, he will face the winner of the duel between Coleman Wong, from Hong Kong, and Kazakh Dimitry Popko. To secure a place in the main draw, there is also a third round, in which the potential opponents are Argentine Thiago Agustín Tirante, Austrian Jurij Rodionov, French Titouan Droguet and British Jan Choinski.
It is the first time that João Fonseca will try to compete professionally in the Australian Open, but he already knows the competition. In 2023, he participated in the youth tournament and was runner-up in doubles, in partnership with Belgian Alexander Blockx.
In the update of the ATP rankings this Monday, the day of his debut in the Australian Major, the Rio native, currently number 145 in the world, should rise to 113th position. The increase is due to the Canberra Challenger title won in the early hours of Saturday. In the last days of 2024, he won Next Gen, a tournament that brings together promising young people in the sport.
Brazil has four more representatives in the Australian Open, and three of them will play this Sunday. Gustavo Heide faces Serbian Laslo Djere, at 8pm (Brasília time). Later, at 11:30 pm, Thiago Monteiro faces Australian Jason Kubler and Laura Pigossi duels with Spanish Guimar Zuleta de Reales. In the second, in addition to Fonseca, Felipe Melingeni will play, in a match against Frenchman Clemente Chidekh.
There are only two representatives from Brazil with a direct place in the main draw: Beatriz Haddad Maia, number 17 in the world, and Thiago Wild, ranked 74th in the world rankings.
