“I was just focused on my game, trying to put no pressure on myself playing with a top 10 guy in a huge stadium, trying to call the crowd to help me,” Fonseca said. “I just enjoyed playing.”
Rublev drew the proverbial short straw and despite his own professed mental improvements was unable to keep up with Fonseca’s pace as the youngster erased a break deficit in the third set and blitzed the ensuing tiebreaker.
“I just tried to put all the intensity on the important points,” he said. “One thing of myself, I play better on important points. I go for the shots and I’m courageous. That was the difference today.”
Quoting Roger Federer to end his on-court interview, Fonseca insisted “talent is not enough,” and gave credit to his team led by coach Guilherme Teixeira for the hard work that helped him achieve this milestone victory.
Very tentatively projected to make his Top 100 debut after the tournament—a deeper run would all but guarantee it for the world No. 112—Fonseca will get a familiar opponent in the second round when he faces Lorenzo Sonego, who defeated 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka earlier in the day. The pair played last spring on clay in Bucharest, Fonseca edging through in two tight sets.
