João Fonseca, from qualifying, advanced to the second round at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The 18-year-old Brazilian beat Andrey Rublev, seeded No. 9, in three sets (7-6 [1]6-3, 7-6 [5]).
After crushing his opponents during qualifying, 18-year-old João Fonseca had great ambitions for his first Grand Slam main draw. Opposed in the first round to Andrey Rublev, not the most confident player in a while, the Brazilian did not hesitate to impose his game, all explosiveness, and fully benefited from the encouragement of the public. Titled last December at the NextGen Masters, and at the start of the year at the Canberra Challenger, João Fonseca, 112th in the world, struck a big blow among the big guys. “I knew I had a lot of pressure. Everything was new for me, but I was not the favorite, he explained at a press conference. I entered the field with the mentality: ‘I’m an 18-year-old, he’s a Top 10 player.’ I tried to do my best. I knew I could beat him, but I didn’t feel any pressure. When I led 2 sets at love, I started to think a little more about the possibility of winning the match, about staying focused. The nerves set in, but I remained mentally strong. »
Mentally strong, the Brazilian nugget started his match without complexes. In the first set, after saving a break point at 4-3, it was in the tie-break that he concluded this first round, as he had started, excited. Leading two sets to zero, without overplaying, but facing a feverish opponent, the Brazilian would seal his first Major victory in the tie-break of the third set. Quickly leading 4-0, Andrey Rublev was unable to find the fault to extend the deadline. “I checked my phone while I was in the ice bath and there were a lot of messages, so I left it,” he explained at a press conference. I tried to send a message to my family, to my loved ones. I stood cold in the bath, but what I did was amazing. My first Grand Slam victory, my first victory against a Top 10 player, my first participation in the main draw of a Grand Slam. Everything is new for me, I played a very good match. I’m very happy with myself, very proud of the way I fought, the way I stayed mentally focused in every game, on every point. » His opponent in the next round, the Italian Lorenzo Sonego, has been warned, João Fonseca intends to remain faithful to his mentality to try to extend his stay at Melbourne Park.
EA
