Fonseca flies through Phoenix opener, next faces Struff; Mensik wins in Cap Cana

Joao Fonseca produced a squeaky-clean performance in his Arizona Tennis Classic debut Wednesday when he raced past Pavel Kotov 6-2, 6-4.

The 18-year-old Brazilian dropped just six points behind his first serve (27/33), according to Infosys ATP Stats and did not face a break point, setting a second-round clash against fourth seed Jan-Lennard Struff.

“I knew Pavel was a great player, great fighter. I needed to do my best to win today and I did really well since the beginning of the match,” Fonseca said in his on-court interview. “Happy with the way I managed to win.

“I focussed a lot on my serve, that’s the thing we were working on a lot, trying to have no breaks.”

Dream desert debut 🌵 #ATPChallenger | @aztennisclassic pic.twitter.com/CSIhJ0G9A4

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 12, 2025

Fonseca called the physio to court after the first game of the second set and received treatment on his left leg. But the teenager showed no signs of hindered movement as he marched on to a one-hour, 29-minute victory, his 16th win of the season across all levels.

At No. 80 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fonseca is aiming for his third ATP Challenger Tour title this week. He opened this season with a title run at the Canberra Challenger, just two weeks removed from his triumph at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. The #NextGenATP star earned his first ATP Tour title last month in Buenos Aires.

In other Phoenix action, former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori earned a 6-4, 6-3 win against sixth seed Luca Nardi. Down a break early in the second set, the 35-year-old Nishikori tallied four consecutive games to advance. The Japanese star broke Nardi's serve six times throughout the one-hour, 23-minute match. 

Alexander Bublik ousted Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 while American Reilly Opelka was a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 winner against Arthur Rinderknech. Opelka earned a decisive break at 6-5 in the second and third sets, sending him through to the last 16.

Former college standouts Jacob Fearnley and Eliot Spizzirri also advanced. Spizzirri, who won his first Challenger title two weeks ago, defeated Australian qualifier Li Tu 6-4, 6-2 while Fearnley downed James Duckworth 7-6(3), 6-3.

Cap Cana
#NextGenATP players Jakub Mensik and Rei Sakamoto were among Wednesday winners at the inaugural Republica Dominicana Open, Copa Cap Cana Ciudad Destino.

Fifth seed Mensik ousted Chilean Cristian Garin 6-3, 6-4, fueled by a strong-serving performance. Similar to Fonseca in Phoenix, the 19-year-old dropped just four points behind his first serve and did not face a break point.

^{Jakub Mensik during Cap Cana action Wednesday. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Challenger Tour}

Mensik’s second-round opponent will be Japan’s 18-year-old Sakamoto, who moved past Govind Nanda 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Constant Lestienne earned the upset of the day by knocking out eighth seed Cameron Norrie 6-4, 7-5.

"It's a very big win for me, against a guy like Cameron, former Top 10 [player]," Lestienne said. "I lost twice against him, so that was good revenge. I played a good level and it was a good fight."

Locked in 🔒

Constant Lestienne knocks out No. 8 seed Norrie 6-4, 7-5 in Cap Cana#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/s8uxelbsyS

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 13, 2025