Eliminated from the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros Tournament, João Fonseca attributed the fall to the excellent performance of the Czech Jakub Mensik, 27th in the world, who won in straight sets on Tuesday night in France (2).
“I don’t think I played badly today. It was Jakub’s credit,” said the Brazilian, who won 6/4, 6/3 and 7/6 (7/3). “His serve is incredible. The way he deals with decisive moments is very impressive. He is not afraid, he has courage. He has already won a Masters, is in his first semi-final and knows how to play when it matters.”
João also praised his rival’s strikes when returning to service. “His return, both on the first and second serve, went too far into the court and put a lot of pressure. He missed very few returns. This put me in a difficult position throughout the game”, he noted.
In the third set, Fonseca saved four match points to force a tie-break. “I was just trying to win that game, without thinking about the rest of the game. I did my best.” In the tie-break, Mensik made it 7-3.
Regarding the campaign as a whole, the 19-year-old from Rio said that the two weeks exceeded what he expected.
“I arrived here without many expectations and managed to have a great result. It was two weeks of a lot of hard work and a lot of learning”, said the athlete, who triumphed in long battles, beating Dino Prizmic and Novak Djokovic by 3 sets to 2.
“I didn’t know if I could handle a five-hour match. Now I know I can. I leave here more confident with my game, with my physique and with my mentality”, he celebrated, noting that the Brazilian fans gave him strength. “The emotion they put out on the court helps me. They were there when I was 2-0 down in two games. That says a lot.”
The next Grand Slam on the agenda is the traditional Wimbledon Tournament, starting on June 29, in London, on another surface.
“Grass is very different from clay — I play much faster, different perception. But having played five sets here at Roland Garros gives me more experience in Grand Slams in general. Now it’s time to reset, return home and move on to the next round”, concluded João.
