‘I want more and more. That’s the mentality of a champion’

João Fonseca, 18 years old, celebrated his victory over Russian Andrey Rublev, ninth in the world, by 3 sets to 0 with partials of 7/6 (7/1) 6/3 7/6 (7/5) after 2h23min duration at the Margaret Court Arena.

Fonseca commented that he had to turn off his cell phone because of so many messages he had right after the game: “I saw my cell phone, I tried to see it in the ice bath, there were a lot of messages and I turned it off (laughs). I sent messages to my family, those closest to me, it was very cold in the ice bath”, the Brazilian began saying at a press conference: “What I did was incredible, my first victory in a Grand Slam, first over a top 10, my first time playing a main draw, everything is new to me, but I played such a good match, very happy with myself, very proud of myself, the way I maintained myself mentally in every game, at every point.

The tennis player recorded his 14th consecutive victory, nine of them in a year in which he still doesn’t know what it means to lose a set. He highlighted that the confidence came from the NextGen Finals, a tournament with young people up to 20 years old that ended close to last Christmas.

“Without a doubt, NextGen gave me confidence, I’m playing great tennis, I need to enjoy this moment, play my best, it’s about playing point by point, facing these guys, raising the level when the important points come and we’ll try to continue, that’s the difference to the top players, this consistency and I’m trying to improve my consistency. I’m on a good run at the end of last year and the start of this year.

The tennis player became the youngest Brazilian and second youngest active player to win a top 10 in a Slam. He confessed that he felt the pressure towards the end of the match: “Of course I felt the pressure, I knew it would come, everything was new to me. I wasn’t the favorite, I just tried to get on the court, I tried my best, of course I was confident and I knew I could win, playing without the pressure, but of course when I opened 2 sets to 0 I started thinking I could win the match, I needed to stay focused, the nerves came, but I stayed (steady) mentally”.

The Brazilian faces the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, 55th, who won the only game so far in Bucharest, Romania, in April last year. The Brazilian is focused on this game, but with a champion’s mentality, wanting to win even more in the event.

“I think when I arrived here my first objective was to qualify for the group. Now the objectives change, I want more and more, of course I’m happy with the way I played, with the victory. Now I think about the next game, it will be a good I’m playing against a great player. I want more and more, that’s the mentality of a champion, I’m trying to think only about the next match.”