João Fonseca and the German Daniel Altmaier suffered with the services of the French Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti and finished runner-up in the doubles bracketo ATP 500 de Hallein Germany, this Sunday. Specialists in the partnership game, the French scored 2-0, splits of 7/6 (7/2) and 6/4winning the fourth title of the season.
The German tournament marked the beginning of the grass season for the Brazilian tennis player, who was looking for his first title on the surface and his second doubles win on the main circuit of the Professional Tennis Players Association (ATP). The good week with Altmaier “compensated” for the poor performance in the singles bracket, in which Fonseca, 25th in the world, was eliminated in his debut by the German Yannick Hanfmann, 59th, winning just four games.
In Sunday’s decision, Fonseca and Altmaier, who prioritize their career in singles and performed together for the first time, they had a lot of difficulty against two specialists and well-matched: Olivetti, 30th in the doubles ranking, and Arribage, 34th. Fonseca occupies 159th place, and the German only 891st.
The French used the service well, especially the giant Olivetti (2.03 m), endid not give opponents much opportunity to gain pace in the return game. Fonseca and Altmaier also served well, but at certain times the rivals managed to balance the dispute. In the sixth game, on Fonseca’s serve, the French had break points, but did not confirm it.
Without breaks, the set was defined in the tie-break . The French continued to pressure their rival’s serves and soon took a 5-1 lead. With two powerful serves from Olivetti, they took the tie-break 7-2 and the first set. To the statistics showed how the Brazilian’s duo suffered from their rivals’ looting, who won 93% of points with first and second serves. The performance of Fonseca and Altmaier was well below (75% with the first and 60% with the second).
The French started the second set by putting pressure on Fonseca’s serve, which he managed to confirm. Afterwards, however, the Brazilian duo forced the French needed to win some exchanges after Olivett’s servei. In the fifth game, the first and only break of the match occurred on the Brazilian’s serve. Arribage and Olivetti maintained their good service performance and closed the game at 6/4.
The campaign to runner-up started with an invitation from the German tournament organization for the Fonseca pair to compete in qualifying. Fonseca and Altmaier were eliminated in the second and final round, but benefited from a last-minute withdrawal and entered the main draw as lucky losers. In the semi-final, against the Italian Flavio Cobolli and the North American Ben Shelton, they played a competitive game, even saving match point.
Now, João Fonseca continues preparation for Wimbledonthird Grand Slam of the season and played on grass, at the ATP 250 in Eastbourne, England. The 19-year-old tennis player will be seeded 2 and will be off in the first round. His debut will be in the round of 16 against an opponent coming from the qualifiers.
