Brazilian tennis player was better on the court for most of the game, but hesitated in both tie-breaks
He suffered a hard turn on his grass debut this season this Tuesday. The 18 -year -old Brazilian tennis player was close to his first victory in this ATP level tournaments, with a match point in the third set, but was eventually beaten by Italian Flávio Cobolli, 24th in the world, 2 sets to 1, with 7/5, 6/7 (3/7) and 6/7 (8/10) partials at Halle ATP 500. Fonseca was better on the court for most of the game, but hesitated in the two tie-breaks. The Brazilian encountered difficulty in his adaptation to the fast floor and went to the ground at different times. One of the slips ended up generating one of the Italian rival’s match points. In another, still on the second set, he even took his hand to his thigh after a fall, but continued at stake normally.
Despite the defeat in the debut, Fonseca is expected to climb the ranking for the likely 55th place. Thus, it will gain two places in relation to your current position, which is already the best of your career so far. The match marked the return of the 18 -year carioca to the courts after the good campaign in, where he stopped in the third round, about two weeks ago. In Halle, the 57th of the ranking makes the transition from the clay, the slowest floor of the circuit, to the fastest of all, which requires a different style of play. Fonseca’s debut in the grass, in an unprecedented confrontation with Cobolli in the circuit, had slight superiority of the Brazilian throughout the first set. The break, however, came only in the 11th game, after chances lost in the third. The carioca opened 6/5 and sealed the partial by confirming his withdrawal in sequence.
The second set was more parental. Cobolli grew in the service games of the Brazilian, who had to raise the level of withdrawal to avoid breaks. At the same time, Fonseca pressured the Italian service. In the 11th game, the Brazilian had a Break Point with Match Point face, which Cobolli suu to save.
Following, Fonseca saved a set point to force the Tie-Break dispute. The tiebreaker was dominated by the Italian. He opened 4/1 and knew how to manage the good advantage. The Brazilian was startled before the set point when he suffered a drop in the bottom of the court. Fonseca seemed to feel a nuisance in his right thigh, but continued at stake normally.
The third partial was the most balanced of the confrontation, with each tennis player closing their withdrawal games with relative ease. Fonseca would stand out when pressing the Italian service, which saved four break points. Without enjoying his chances, the Brazilian played another tie-break, once again without repeating the good performance he had been showing in the match.
After leaving behind on the scoreboard, the Brazilian had the first match point of the match. Unable to impose on the court, he saw the Italian react promptly. Cobolli, who had been growing with each set of the confrontation, took advantage of his chance and sacred the victory after 2h44min of confrontation.
Fonseca will play pairs later this Tuesday
Later this Tuesday, Fonseca will make his debut on the doubles key in Halle. He will play alongside Petros Tsitsipas, Stefanos younger brother. The partnership will face Portuguese Francisco Cabral and the Austrian Lucas Miedler around 12 noon (from Brasilia). It will be the last game of the day of “Quadra 2”. Therefore, the time of departure is subject to change.
Since he started playing the professional circuit last year, Fonseca has been playing rare double tournaments. But this time, he opened an exception to gain pace on the grass.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Fernando Dias
