João Fonseca celebrated qualifying for the quarter-finals of Roland Garros after the victory over Casper Ruud this Sunday (31). After beating the Norwegian by 3 sets to 1, the Brazilian highlighted the strategy used to neutralize one of the main names on the circuit.
According to the 19-year-old tennis player, the objective was to take control of the points and prevent him from feeling comfortable throughout the match.
“I felt good during the match, setting a good rhythm, not letting him get comfortable with my right, trying to move him as much as possible. It was a battle of who controlled the game faster. It was very chessy today: easy to understand and very difficult to execute, but I managed to execute it very perfectly”, he stated.
In a balanced contest, Fonseca won the first two sets 7-5 and 7-6 (10-8). In the tie-break of the second half, he saw Ruud open up an advantage, but he reacted and closed the tiebreaker to increase his lead in the match.
The Brazilian highlighted the importance of remaining calm in decisive moments against an experienced opponent.
Every point mattered at that moment. I knew he would feel a bit of pressure too, but he is a very experienced guy. Happy with how I wasn’t so crazy. Sometimes I threw out some bombs, but I managed to have courage and conviction in important moments.
Ruud managed to reduce the deficit by winning the third set 7-5. João, however, came back better for the fourth half and regained control of the match to finish 6-2 and guarantee the victory.
“In the third, mentally it was difficult because every game was hard and long. I managed to fit in good returns in the first game of the fourth set, I managed to play with aggression and conviction. Happy to have maintained that break, it gave me strength to finish the game well”, he added.
With the triumph over the world number 16, Fonseca will face Czech Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals. The games in this phase take place on the 2nd and 3rd of June.
