Madrid (Spain) – João Fonseca’s first participation in a Masters 1000 began with a victory. Invited to play in Madrid, the 17-year-old carioca took advantage of the opportunity against the North American Alex Michelsen, 70th in the ranking, and achieved a turnaround this Thursday. After the match, Fonseca reiterated that it is at this level of tournaments that he increasingly wants to be.
“That’s the level I want to be at. These are the tournaments I want to play. I have to get used to this environment, because more and more I want to play in these tournaments”, said Fonseca, after the 4/6, 6/0 and 6/2 victory over Michelsen. With the result, he also guaranteed the Brazilians 100% success in the Masters 1000 in Madrid, joining Thiago Wild and Thiago Monteiro in the second round.
The victory in his debut earns 30 ATP points for Fonseca, who will once again have the best ranking of his career. He started the tournament in 242nd place, after reaching the quarterfinals in Bucharest, and is already jumping another 20 positions. “I’m very happy to be able to have good weeks sequentially and I’m happy with the level of tennis I’m presenting against more experienced players with a much better ranking than mine. I think tennis is made up of weeks. There are players who shoot up the rankings after a great result and in other weeks they play a little lower.”
In an interview with ESPN, Fonseca admitted to being nervous in the first games of the match. He started losing 4/0. And even though he wasn’t able to turn the first set around, the reaction at the end of the partial already helped him to play more loosely and begin the search for a comeback. “It was a very difficult game. I had never played against him in youth, but we were in the same brackets and he is rising in the rankings. So I knew it would be a very even game”, he comments about his 19-year-old rival.
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“In the first set I was very nervous, making a lot of mistakes. I didn’t even let him play, I was making mistakes beforehand. But in the end I managed to loosen up a little. And from the second set onwards, he started giving away some free balls and I started taking advantage”, said the carioca, also highlighting the presence of Brazilian fans in Madrid. “I called on the fans, which also helped me a lot to relieve the tension. I tried to transfer the pressure to his side, which is older and has a better ranking. I am very happy for this victory, for having believed and kept my head firm to achieve victory”.
Still waiting for a place in the Roland Garros qualification, either through his own ranking or through an invitation, Fonseca is beginning to establish himself in the ranking range that would place him in the Wimbledon qualification. “I have few points to defend and I hope to play at Wimbledon. Last year, I had good results on grass as a juvenile. But I have to enjoy tournament after tournament, without thinking too much about the front or ranking. Basically I have to think about the weeks and win my games.”
The Brazilian’s next opponent will be the British Cameron Norrie, a 28-year-old left-hander and 30th in the rankings: “I’m going to play without any pressure, happy and loose. Now it’s time to see what it’s going to be like and believe it.”
Read more:
After 21 years, Brazil places three in the second phase of Masters
Tags: Fonseca level tournament play
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