Tennis-Fonseca's Wimbledon run ends but he will be back
LONDON (Reuters) -Brazil's Joao Fonseca will be back, there is not much doubt about that, but for now the 18-year-old says he still has a few things to learn to make himself a force at Wimbledon.
The golden boy from Rio de Janeiro, slated as the next big thing in men's tennis, marked his first Wimbledon foray by a run to the third round but was then stopped by Chile's Nicolas Jarry.
Despite a 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) defeat on Court Two, where he enjoyed plenty of support, Fonseca showed flashes of the powerful shot-making that has got everyone so excited.
After being overpowered in the opening two sets, Fonseca sparked into life and seemed on the verge of turning around the match but could not convert any of the six break points that came his way and went on to lose the tiebreak.
"For sure a lot of lessons. When you go to a Grand Slam and play, the players play differently. They are much more focused," Fonseca said. "It's a five-set match, and everything can happen.
"You can have two sets up and then you can still lose the match. So you need to stay focused all the time and positive."
For a player seemingly made for big stages, it was a shame that he missed a likely Centre Court clash with Britain's Cameron Norrie on Sunday. But Fonseca preferred to take the positives.
"Of course, a little frustration," he told reporters. "I had the opportunity and I probably would have been playing better in the fifth set, I was feeling confident.
"But at the same time I'm still young and a lot to come. We're going to be back next year. Just take the learnings, keep working and let's go for it.
Fonseca made his Grand Slam main draw debut only at this year's Australian Open, knocking out Russian seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round. He then reached the third round of the French Open and repeated that feat in London.
Not a bad way to start his Grand Slam story and he is already looking forward to the U.S. Open where he will receive noisy support from the large Brazilian population in New York.
"For me it's a privilege when you have your country supporting you, and you feel like you represent your country," he said. "It's super nice because we don't have that much of a following in Brazil. I know for sure there's going to be a lot in New York. It's going to be nice."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
11 minutes ago
- The Star
Cricket-Australia's Green hopes half-century against West Indies can be turning point
(Reuters) -Australia batter Cameron Green hopes his vital half-century on day three of the second test against the West Indies in Grenada can turn around a poor run of form and cement his spot in the top order. Green was promoted to bat at number three for last month's World Test Championship final, his first test in more than a year, but scored only four runs and faced just five balls as Australia were beaten by South Africa. Despite failing to impress, he retained his position for the three-test series against the West Indies, with captain Pat Cummins saying he viewed the 26-year-old all-rounder as a long-term option in the slot. Green had another underwhelming display in Australia's 159-run win in the first test, scoring 18 runs, but contributed 52 on Saturday and combined with Steve Smith for a crucial 93-run partnership that gave the visitors the upper hand in the second match. "You always need innings here and there just to get you back and get you going, hopefully today was certainly one of those. A lot of good things I can get out of just spending time in the middle," Green told reporters. "I think the balls faced has been trending up. The runs haven't been there, but there's certainly little positives I can take out of it. Hopefully, my output can be a little bit better than it has been, but today was a nice sign that things are hopefully trending well. "You all know when you're playing that there's runs that need to be made, certainly when you're batting up the order for Australia. It's a tough game, so being able to bounce back from tough times is equally as important." Australia ended day three on 221/7 with a commanding 254-run lead heading into the final two days of the match, and will look to set an even more daunting target when play resumes later on Sunday. (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Alcaraz vs Rublev, Sabalenka Eyes Wimbledon Glory
CARLOS Alcaraz's charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon crown faces a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev on Sunday. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women's title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club: Win or lose 'in the right way' for Rublev Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four. Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final. The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final. 'You cannot show any weaknesses,' said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz. Rublev has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit. But he has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game. 'There are two options,' he added. 'Try to go deeper. Or if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way. 'That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way.' Pressure-proof Sabalenka a 'new person' Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club. The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far. After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a 'different person'. She added: 'Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting. 'I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure.' Kartal enjoying the spotlight After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest. South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things,' said the 23-year-old. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging,' she added.-AFP
The Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Sun
Alcaraz faces reformed Rublev as Sabalenka eyes Wimbledon glory
CARLOS Alcaraz's charge towards a third consecutive Wimbledon crown faces a tricky test against volatile Russian Andrey Rublev on Sunday. World number one Aryna Sabalenka is the big favourite for the women's title ahead of her meeting against Elise Mertens, while British hopes now lie in the hands of Sonay Kartal and Cameron Norrie. AFP Sport looks at the matches to watch on day seven of the tournament at the All England Club: Win or lose 'in the right way' for Rublev Alcaraz has yet to hit top gear in south-west London after dropping three sets in his three matches en route to round four. Yet, Rublev is aware he has to be at the top of his game to cause an almighty upset and break his curse of never progressing beyond a Grand Slam quarter-final. The world number 14 has reached the last eight on 10 occasions without ever making it to a semi-final. 'You cannot show any weaknesses,' said Rublev on the challenge of facing Alcaraz. Rublev has already enjoyed a much happier time at Wimbledon than 12 months ago when he repeatedly smashed his racquet over his own leg during a shock first-round exit. But he has credited the influence of two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, himself a notorious hothead in his prime, for bringing some calm to his game. 'There are two options,' he added. 'Try to go deeper. Or if I lose, to lose it in a mature, adult way. 'That would be success as well, to lose it in the right way.' Pressure-proof Sabalenka a 'new person' Sabalenka is the only woman left standing of the top six seeds, and is keen to make up for lost time at the All England Club. The three-time Grand Slam champion missed last year's Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury and was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Sabalenka overcame a stern test of her tennis and temperament to end British favourite Emma Raducanu's run in the third round in arguably the match of the tournament so far. After losing control of her emotions in defeat to Coco Gauff in the French Open final last month, the Belarusian said she feels like a 'different person'. She added: 'Whatever happens on the court, you just have to be respectful, you have to be calm, and you just have to keep trying and keep fighting. 'I was just reminding myself that I'm strong enough, and I can handle this pressure.' Kartal enjoying the spotlight After the exits of Raducanu and world number four Jack Draper, Kartal and Norrie are tasked with maintaining British interest. South Africa-born Norrie, a Wimbledon semi-finalist three years ago, will fancy his chances of progressing against Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Kartal, meanwhile, is enjoying the spotlight after reaching her first ever Grand Slam fourth round, where she will face Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. 'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour. Obviously you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things,' said the 23-year-old. 'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging,' she added.-AFP
