João Fonseca showed, in the first match of his career in the main draw of a Grand Slam – a series that brings together the four main tournaments on the tennis circuit – that the great expectations created around his name are justified. In an excellent game, he defeated Russian Andrei Rublev, number nine in the world.
The 18-year-old Brazilian, ranked 112th on the ATP (Tennis Professionals Association) list, was not intimidated on the Margaret Court court, the second largest at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, where the Australian Open is played. Against a much more experienced opponent, established in the top 10, he played 3 sets to 0, partials of 7/6 (7/1), 6/3 and 7/6 (7/5).
The triumph over the 27-year-old Russian should secure the Rio native in the 100th position in the world rankings, but he wants more. Having knocked down the ninth seed, the young man will now face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, 29 years old, 55th in the world, who won 3 sets to 1 against the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
Full of confidence after two titles – at the Next Gen ATP Finals and the Canberra Challenger –, Fonseca caught the attention of the tennis world. He won praise from multiple important figures in the sport and entered the main draw in Australia with 13 consecutive victories and a rare expectation for someone his age.
Right away, he demonstrated that he was not scared by the challenge. If he showed some anxiety to define the first points, he also showed that he had the technical capacity to face Rublev and his powerful right hand. In tactical boldness, he attacked quite precisely the right of his rival, who generally expects attacks on the left.
With both tennis players serving well, the balanced first set had only one break opportunity, with the Brazilian serving at 3/4. In a rally with 17 ball changes, João stood firm and saved the break point. The partial went to a tie-break, with great serves and returns from the boy: 7 to 1.
The good momentum carried over into the second set, with a break at the beginning and a 3/0 lead. The Russian was already showing some impatience with the difficulty in finding consistent attacking gaps and, once again, he was unable to take advantage of the game in which he had a chance to break, losing the partial by 6/3.
Rublev finally managed a break in the third set, opening 3/1. But Fonseca didn’t give up, he returned the favor in the next game and showed personality in moments of difficulty, with his very powerful right hand – one, at 181 km/h, was at least until that moment the fastest in the tournament. The set went to a tie-break, and the Brazilian scored 7-5.
