ATP Tour

Fonseca advances in Paris: 'Nerves were everywhere, but I could handle it'

Joao Fonseca made a commanding start to his Roland Garros campaign Sunday, when he overcame home favourite Luka Pavlovic 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round.

The Brazilian, who withdrew from Hamburg last week due to a wrist injury, showed no signs of discomfort as he secured his opening-round victory. With the triumph, the 19-year-old earned his first tour-level victory since defeating Arthur Rinderknech to reach the quarter-finals in Munich in April.

Fonseca and Pavlovic exchanged momentum throughout a tightly contested opening set, but the Brazilian ultimately asserted control in the crucial moments. After saving three set points on serve in the 12th game, qualifier Pavlovic later held a set point at 6/5 in the tie-break, only for Fonseca to erase it with a forehand winner and eventually clinch the set.

"I was happy the way I fought today to the end," Fonseca said. "I was a set point down, and I played well. The nerves were everywhere, but I could handle it. Very happy with the way I fought."

After edging the opening set, the Brazilian never relinquished control. Blending explosive baseline shotmaking with sharp net play, while consistently drawing errors from Pavlovic’s racquet, the No. 30 player in the PIF ATP Rankings converted his first match point to seal victory in two hours and 14 minutes.

The next test for the 19-year-old on the terre battue will be a second-round clash against Dino Prizmic. Earlier in the day, Prizmic cruised past American Michael Zheng 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

In other action, Hamad Medjedovic defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 in two hours and 59 minutes. Medjedovic will play 2023 finalist Casper Ruud or Roman Safiullin in the second round.

Jakub Mensik, the 26th seed, also earned a first-round win Sunday when he cruised past French wild card Titouan Droguet 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes. The Czech will face Mariano Navone or Jenson Brooksby in the second round.