Brazilian hopeful Joao Fonseca (112th), who defeated Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open, was eliminated in the next round this Thursday in Melbourne by Lorenzo Sonego 6-7 (6/8), 6- 3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Fifty-fifth player in the world, the 29-year-old Italian tennis player brought his experience to bear in the last set to save a break point at 3-3, before taking his opponent’s service.
Sonego will face the Hungarian Fabian Marozan (59th) in the third round, who defeated the American Frances Tiafoe (N.17) in five sets.
Dubbed by Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic after his feat in the first round, Fonseca conceded his first defeat in 2025 for his first match played after five sets.
In the first set, the 18-year-old Brazilian worked hard to win in the tiebreak, after saving two set points thanks to strong first serves.
But the trend was confirmed in the next two sets, quietly pocketed by Sonego. The Italian was untouchable in his service games and took advantage of the approximations of Fonseca, who came out of qualifying and who conceded his first two sets in 2025.
Unable to take his opponent’s serve in the first three sets, the winner of the ATP NextGen in December finally managed to do so at the start of the fourth set.
In the decisive set, Fonseca had the opportunity to change the match, but Sonego found his first ball to extinguish the 1573 Arena and its excited Brazilian fans.
