RIO DE JANEIRO — Teenage tennis sensation João Fonseca pissed off his house followers on the Rio Open in a first-round loss Tuesday, two days after successful his first ATP title.
Fonseca misplaced 6-1, 7-6 (4) to No. 60-ranked Alexandre Muller of France, making 34 unforced errors and showing to be exhausted in the course of the match.
The 18-year-old Brazilian gained his profession first title on the elite stage with victory within the Argentina Open last on Sunday.
Muller will meet Argentina’s Tomás Martin Etcheverry within the subsequent spherical.
“It was robust to play in opposition to such an ideal participant and maybe 5,000 (followers), however I am very blissful to get the victory in the present day,” Muller stated. “I used to be feeling calm in half of the match. I did not take my probabilities to take the break within the second set after which he was enjoying higher and higher. I performed an ideal tiebreak to complete.”
On the weekend, Fonseca grew to become the primary man born in 2006 or later to win a top-level ATP singles title, the tenth youngest champion in ATP Tour historical past and the youngest South American participant to win a title within the ATP Tour period (since 1990).
Final 12 months, the rising star reached the quarterfinals of the event in Rio, an ATP 500, and completed off 2024 by successful the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals in December.
He moved up 31 spots to No. 68 on this week’s rankings after his win in Buenos Aires.
