ATP Tour

Fonseca credits 'mental strength' after late Tsitsipas drama in Montreal

Joao Fonseca marked his return to action in style on Wednesday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal, where he overcame former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(3), 7-5 to reach the third round.

Competing in his first tour-level match since his third-round defeat to Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon last month, Fonseca looked on course for a straightforward finish before dropping serve while attempting to close out the match at 5-4 in the second set. The 19-year-old, however, won eight of the next nine points to seal victory and become the first Brazilian to reach the third round at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event since ATP No. 1 Club member Gustavo Kuerten.

“I think Joao from last year would’ve lost his mind,” Fonseca said in his on-court interview. “I’m a more mature Joao [now]. It’s been a couple weeks without playing, so I knew, serving for the match, I would be a little bit more tense. I felt good, played some good returns, and then put the pressure on him. I think I needed that break at 5-5.”

Having also defeated Tsitsipas in Davis Cup action last year, Fonseca improved to 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The #NextGenATP star will next face ninth seed Casper Ruud.

After falling to qualifier Tristan Schoolkate in his opening match at this event in 2025, Fonseca was determined to make a winning start this time around. The former Next Gen ATP Finals champion and two-time tour-level champion now owns a 17-12 record in 2026, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by his run to the Roland Garros quarter-finals in June, when he upset Novak Djokovic along the way.

“This year, playing with the big [guys]. I’ve played with Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, Shelton and Djokovic, so I’ve had a lot of experience,” Fonseca said. “This has helped me a lot figuring out how much my mental strength is one of my biggest weapons. That I can be as confident as this… These experiences that I’ve had in these two years [has been] really important for my development.”

Tsitsipas, who reached the final in Canada in 2018, has been working his way back into form this season. The former World No. 3 claimed his first title in 16 months in Gstaad nearly three weeks ago and leaves Montreal up six places to No. 47 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Ruud moved past Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-1, 6-2 to earn his 13th Masters 1000 win of the season, with only Jannik Sinner (29) and Alexander Zverev (18), having recorded more. The Norwegian, a former semi-finalist in Montreal, will aim to record consecutive wins at a tour-level event for the first time since Roland Garros when he meets Fonseca in the third round.

Fonseca will take a 1-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead into that match after downing Ruud at the clay-court major in May.

Ben Shelton lifted his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto 12 months ago. The fifth-seeded American started his title defence with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against countryman Jenson Brooksby.

It is just the second time in 2026 that Shelton has won a match at this level, though, with his only other win coming in Indian Wells. Shelton will next face Zizou Bergs after the Belgian beat Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

There were also wins for 11th seed Lorenzo Musetti and 18th seed Arthur Fils on Day 4. Musetti overcame Colombian qualifier Nicolas Mejia 7-6(8), 6-2, while Fils beat Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.