Brazilian beat Spaniard Jaume Munar in this Saturday’s semifinal by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 7/6 (7/4) and 7/5, in 1h54 of play
wrote another historic page in his career by securing a place in the Basel final. The Brazilian beat Spaniard Jaume Munar in this Saturday’s semifinal by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 7/6 (7/4) and 7/5, in 1h54 of the match, and entered the top 35 of the world rankings.
With the triumph, the 19-year-old tennis player, who is currently number 46 in the world, will compete in his first ATP final at the 500 level this Sunday, against the winner of the clash between Frenchman Ugo Humbert, 24th in the rankings, and Spaniard Alejandro Fokina, 18th.
The first set was balanced from start to finish. João Fonseca showed confidence from the first points, varying his moves and going to the net to score important points. Even under pressure in the return games, the Brazilian maintained consistency on his serve and kept the score even, forcing Munar to defend himself with maximum attention.
The tie-break was the decisive moment of the partial. Munar opened the scoring, but the Brazilian grew on the court, combining aggression with emotional control. With two winning balls in a row and precision in key moments, he got the better of him and closed the set at 7/6, taking the lead in the semi-final.
In the second set, Munar took a 2-1 lead with the first break of the game, but João Fonseca was unfazed. The Brazilian remained firm in his own services, attacked at critical points and managed to return the break. From then on, he took control of the match, putting pressure on the Spaniard and achieving the decisive break that opened the way to closing the partial at 7/5.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
Published by Nátaly Tenório
