Everything was prepared for a Brazilian party in Cascais, a municipality in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, on Wednesday night (30). The fans gradually arrived at Estoril’s tennis club to watch João Fonseca’s debut at Estoril Open, ATP Challenger series tournament. At 20h, the central court was crowded.
The result was not expected by most fans. The 18 -year -old tennis player, Brazil’s great promise, 65th in the world, lost 2 sets 0 to Dutch Jesper de Jong, 93rd in the ranking, with 6/2 and 7/5 partials.
“A long -term Brazilian tennis player had not been to our tournament for a long time, and the result is this crowded court,” he said shortly before the match Carlos Carreiras, the mayor of Cascais – the position is that of mayor in Brazil. “For our estimate, about 23% of the population of Cascais is formed by Brazilians. I hope for a final between Fonseca and the Portuguese Nuno Borges.”
The noisiest part of the Brazilian fans settled in the background stands. As in a soccer game, it unfurled flags and celebrated each point as if it were a goal, something that is not very common in a tennis match. The enthusiasm, however, was cooled early on. De Jong won the first game, broke the withdrawal of Fonseca in the second and kept his own service in the third, opening a good advantage.
The fans tried to encourage Fonseca when he got his first game. “Fonseca! John!” Sing the stands. When a lonely Dutch was shouted “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Jesper,” the boos broke out. The judge had to ask for silence a few times.
Fonseca, however, could not react. De Jong closed the first set 6-2 after breaking the Brazilian service again.
The beginning of the second set was a repetition of the first. From Jong confirmed his service, broke Fonseca’s and confirmed his again, opening 3-0. The stands were silent, and it was possible to hear the words of encouragement of Guilherme Teixeira, Fonseca coach: “Each point tells”, “calm, keep his head”, “now it’s time to hit that blow.”
Encouraged by his technician and the fans, the carioca sketched a reaction. He broke Jong’s withdrawal and tied the 3-3 match. He began to vibrate and celebrate every point, giving the impression that he could turn the game.
The blows that made the fame of Fonseca, however, appeared only sporadically in Estoril, District of Cascais. There were few winning balls with his powerful right. At various times, John lost his point for exaggerating his strength.
The second set was balanced until the Dutchman broke the Brazilian’s withdrawal again in the last game, closing the game on 7/5. Fonseca came out of her court, but the crowd fans did not denied applause.
The final of dreams of the mayor of the increasingly Brazilian Cascais will not happen.
