Fonseca took that momentum into the second set, where he claimed the lone break of the match en route to a 3-0 lead and served his way towards the finish line. Mpetshi Perricard made a brave last stand, saving two match points on Fonseca’s serve, but the Brazilian was undaunted, closing out the contest in just under 90 minutes.
Though Mpetshi Perricard struck an impressive 13 aces, Fonseca managed seven of his own and won 78% of points played behind his first serve—compared to 65% from Mpetshi Perricard.
The win is tentatively projected to move Fonseca back up to his career-high ranking with a chance to crack the Top 40 for the first time in his career. Standing between him and a spot in the quarterfinals is No. 7 seed Jakub Mensik. The Miami Open champion navigated three dramatic sets against Swiss wild card Henry Bernet to advance into the second round on Monday.
Fonseca won his only previous meeting with Mensik last fall at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
