Muller after his win over Fonseca in Rio: "It was a superb experience".

Adrien Guyot

le 19/02/2025 à 07h45

1 min to read

Fonseca Muller Rio de Janeiro

Alexandre Muller put in a great performance on Tuesday night.

The Frenchman, ranked 60th in the world, eliminated João Fonseca in two sets in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro (6-1, 7-6), putting an end to the career of the 18-year-old crowd favourite, who won his first ATP title in Buenos Aires last weekend.

After his victory, the 28-year-old Frenchman was delighted: "I'm sorry for the tournament and for the fans. Fonseca is a superstar here.

But I wanted to win. I'm sure João will win this tournament here many times over. One day, I'll tell my children that I beat João Fonseca on center court in Rio de Janeiro. He's going to be a sporting legend.

The public? It was probably more hostile than a Davis Cup match. Because we would have had French and Brazilian fans. Today, there were only Brazilians.

But it was a superb experience. I managed to stay calm and play well tactically," said the Frenchman in a post-success press conference.

A few hours later, Alexandre Muller also shared his emotions on his X account (formerly Twitter).

"Tennis, you're no fun every day, but thank you for moments like tonight! I've never seen an atmosphere like this!" described Muller on the social network. He will face Etcheverry in the second round.