The Russian Andrey Rublev, 9th in the ATP rankings, was eliminated on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open by the young Brazilian Joao Fonseca (112th), unstoppable since his victory at the NextGen ATP Finals in December.
14th consecutive victory for the young Brazilian
Quarter-finalist in Melbourne in 2024, Rublev was dominated 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) and joins the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th), finalist of the Open Australia 2023, among the leading players eliminated as soon as they entered the fray. A few days before the first Grand Slam of the season, Rublev (27) had already been ousted from the start at the ATP 250 in Hong Kong, where he was the defending champion.
At 18, Fonseca played his first match in the final draw of a Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday. In the second round he will face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (55th), who on Tuesday beat the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka (156th), winner in Melbourne in 2014 and beneficiary of an invitation from the organizers allowing him to enter directly into the final draw.
Since his victory at the end of December at the NextGen ATP Finals, a tournament which brings together the eight best players under 21 from last season, the Brazilian won the Challenger tournament (2nd level of the world circuit) in Canberra and managed to escape from the three qualifying rounds of the Australian Open. Fonseca’s success against Rublev thus constitutes his 14th victory in a row, all tournament categories combined.
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On Monday, Stefanos Tsitsipas was also eliminated by a young talent present in December at the NextGen Finals, the American Alex Michelsen (42nd).
