18-year-old Brazilian João Fonseca took the tennis world by storm by defeating Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.
Fonseca makes history at the Australian Open. With his victory over Andrey Rublev, currently ranked number 9 in the world, the young Brazilian accomplished something that legends like Guga Kuerten, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer never managed: winning on their debut in the main draw of tournaments of the Grand Slam.
Currently ranked 112th in the ATP rankings, the player, originally from Rio de Janeiro, qualified for the main draw of the Australian tournament after brilliantly passing the qualifying rounds. Despite the pressure of playing for the first time on the famous Margaret Court Arena, the young talent triumphed against the Russian in three sets, with scores of 7/6 (1), 6/3, 7/6 (5).
Read more:
Renata Zarazúa, first Mexican since 2000 to reach the second round of the Australian Open
In addition to the satisfaction of defeating a top 10 player, Fonseca can celebrate the significance of his achievement. Considered by many to be the greatest Brazilian tennis player in history, Guga faced a similar challenge in his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 1996 but lost to South African Wayne Ferreira in three sets.
Another heavyweight who couldn’t handle the pressure during his debut is Federer, who retired with 20 Grand Slam titles to his name. The Swiss maestro lost in his first match at this level, losing 3 sets to 1 to Patrick Rafter in 1999.
Despite accumulating numerous titles on the circuit, Djokovic got off to a hesitant start, taking several years to find his rhythm before reaching a record 24 Grand Slam titles. In his first major appearance at the Australian Open in 2005, the Serbian lost in three sets to Russian Marat Safin.
Read more:
João Fonseca causes a sensation by entering the Top 100
Another name to remember in this context is that of the current world number one. At the 2019 US Open, Jannik Sinner made his main draw debut but was also forced into an early exit, losing 3 sets to 1 to Stan Wawrinka. Like Fonseca, the Italian had to go through the qualifying rounds as well.
With a view to continuing his remarkable career, the Brazilian will soon face Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the Australian Open. As of now, the time of Fonseca’s match against the Italian has not yet been announced.
