João Fonseca was defeated by Peruvian Ignacio Buse on Thursday night (19) in the round of 16 of the Rio Open.
In a tense game, the Brazilian saw his opponent win 2-1, with scores of 7/5, 3/6 and 4/6, and let his goal of becoming the first Brazilian champion of the tournament in his city slip away.
In a game that started off tense after heavy rain hit the Brazilian Jockey Club and delayed the match by 2h30, the 19-year-old took the lead and won the first set. In the second half of the game, showing fatigue, Fonseca made a series of mistakes and saw the Peruvian tie the game.
Buse continued to perform well and equalized the match. The Brazilian, number 38 in the world, was unable to break any of the Peruvian’s games, who ended up, in the third set, cutting off Fonseca’s reactions.
The Peruvian will now face Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals, this Friday (20). The Italian beat Serbian Dusan Lajovic, 2 sets to 1.
Fonseca still plays in the Rio Open in the doubles competition, together with Marcelo Melo. This Friday, they will compete in the semi-final against the Germans Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner, who eliminated the Brazilians Gustavo Heide and Luís Miguel this Thursday.
On the 11th, Fonseca was eliminated in the debut of a competition, the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, his second commitment of the year. Current champion of the tournament on Argentine soil, the Brazilian ended up defeated by Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, number 71 in the world, and was defeated by 2 sets to 1, with partials 6/3, 3/6 and 7/5.
The Rio Open is his third tournament of the year. He was also defeated in the first round of the Australian Open, the first Gland Slam of the year, at the end of January.
