Former World No.1 Reminds Joao Fonseca of the Expectations he Should Set for Himself After Early Exit at the Canadian Open

Joao Fonseca is a player whom many believe has the potential to reach great heights, although some believe he is overhyped by the media. After reaching the third-round at Wimbledon, the 18-year-old cracked into the world’s top 50 rankings, having been ranked out of the top 650 just 17 months ago. In February, Fonseca became the seventh youngest person to win an ATP title after clinching the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires.

However, he is yet to make any significant mark in tournaments above the ATP 500 level, often facing early exits at this level. He recently faced an opening round exit at the Canadian Open, losing to Tristan Schoolkate in straight sets. Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport gave her take on the young Brazilian while speaking on the Tennis Channel Live podcast:

Obviously it’s been a remarkable year for Fonseca but his expectations are much higher than going out in the first round. He really struggled with his return in the match. Yes, Schoolkate served well but there was no real problem-solving for Fonseca in that category. (He) just wasn’t able to get the rally in to start the point when he was receiving…

In an clash between two debutants at the Canadian Open, qualifier Schoolkate outclassed Fonseca with controlled and consistent aggression behind his serve. The Australian did not face a break point against Fonseca, taking advantage of the quick conditions and disrupting Fonseca’s rhythm by consistently finding his spots on serve. The 24-year-old sealed the victory 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 within one-hour and 33 minutes and jumped up four spots to a career-high World No. 98 in the ATP Live Rankings. Davenport further added:

(He) just wasn’t able to get the rally in to start the point when he was receiving. He now has two weeks until his next match, or about 12 days or so. So, it’ll be interesting to see [if] he goes and does a training block in south Florida. Maybe he goes back to Brazil for a little bit. You’ve got to be able to manage an 18, almost 19-year-old’s mental game as well, and this has been a lot this year maybe.

Schoolkate lost to Matteo Arnaldi in three sets in his next round in Toronto. With the withdrawal of several top ranked-players such as the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Novak Djokovic the draw is wide open this time for perhaps a new Masters 1000 champion this year.

Holger Rune and Casper Ruud are the remaining players in the draw who have played a Masters 1000 final this year. Fonseca will next compete at the Cincinnati Open which commences from August 7th.

Joao Fonseca along with Holger Rune will make their Laver Cup debut next month

Joao Fonseca will be making his debut in the Laver Cup next month. This year marks the eighth edition of the Laver Cup and it will be held from 19-21 September on an indoor hard court at the Chase Center in San Francisco, United States.