After the fall in the state capital, tennis player returns to courts only in March for the disputes of the Masters 1000 of Indian Wells and Miami
Visibly downcast, he admitted on Tuesday night that nervousness and fear sabotaged his performance in his debut in. “I couldn’t be myself on the court,” said the young tennis player, eliminated in the first round of the tournament by Frenchman Alexandre Müller, 6/1 and 7/6 (7/4).
“I knew that nervousness was going to hit at some point and I would have to face this nervousness, the fear of playing in the face of so many people. I tried in every way, with all my strength to face the moment, but I couldn’t. It is part of the sport. These moments of pressure will arrive, but I will continue to evolve, learning from this experience to get stronger in the future, ”said Fonseca.
The 18-year-old tennis player was the great hope of the Brazilian fans on the Open River, which began on Monday. Fonseca had been winning the spotlight since earning two titles in sequence between the end of 2024 and the beginning of this year. Expectations increased when he knocked down Russian Andrey Rublev, then nine of the world, just on his debut at a Grand Slam, on the Australian open. And last week, the carioca “punctured” the tennis bubble when winning his first ATP level trophy in Buenos Aires, last Sunday.
The debut in front of the fans, however, was not as the fans expected. Fonseca abused the mistakes on the first set, even balanced the confrontation in the second, but did not play well enough to seek the draw and force the third partial.
“I couldn’t play my game, I couldn’t be the happy and happy way I usually be. Not being able to play with the public. I think this was my frustration today. Not being able to be myself on the court, ”said Fonseca, who denied any physical problem. “I was 100% physically. I did two good nights sleep, I rested well, zeroed in pain. Today it had nothing to do with physique, it was more the mental part. ”
Without hiding the pain by early defeat, Fonseca said he will need a few hours to digest the result. “From today to tomorrow I will obviously be sad and angry with myself,” said the Brazilian, who praised the support of the fans. “I just have to thank the affection of the entire fans of the Brazilian people for supporting me today on Rio Open. I’m sad that I can’t make another game with the best audience in the world. ”
Despite the rebate, Fonseca has ensured that defeat will not affect her mood for the next challenges in the circuit. “There is a lot ahead, one day behind the other. Tomorrow I will rest and on Thursday I will leave for training again. It has a tournament ahead and years of tennis ahead. In tennis, it’s like this: you’ll lose more than earn. ”
Finally, the home tennis player said he will extract lessons from the painful elimination. “Living and learning. Let’s go to improve as a tennis player and also as a person. I want to continue inspiring more people to accompany tennis and help Brazil evolve in the sport. ”
After the fall in the state capital, Fonseca will return to the courts only in March for the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000 disputes in the United States. The first will start on the 5th of next month. The competition in Florida will start on the 19th.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Content
