João Fonseca climbed the mountain. The 19-year-old from Rio lost the first two sets to Croatian Dino Prizmic, 72nd in the world, but reacted, turned around and won 4/6, 3/6, 6/3, 6/1 and 6/2, this Wednesday (27), on court 14 of Roland Garros, in 3h27 of play. It was one of the most important games of the Brazilian’s career.
The match was played in intense heat —32°C in Paris, with an even higher temperature on court 14, without shade. The crowd, packed with a Brazilian majority, watched a game of technical quality and great intensity.
In the first two sets, Prizmic was superior. The Croatian used his serve as his main weapon — he reached three aces in the first games — and knew how to take advantage of Fonseca’s unforced errors to break the Brazilian’s serve once in each end. Fonseca fluctuated in the decisive moments and conceded 4/6 and 3/6.
The turnaround began midway through the third set. Fonseca hit his serve, reduced his errors, increased his intensity and began to vibrate more, attracting the fans. Prizmic, in turn, began to decline — the first serve stopped coming in, double faults multiplied and unforced errors increased. Fonseca closed the third set 6/3, dominated the fourth 6/1 and confirmed the turnaround in the fifth 6/2.
In the third round, the Brazilian must face Novak Djokovic, fourth in the world and three-time champion in Paris. It will possibly be the most important game of Fonseca’s career.
