Muller gets the better of Fonseca in the first round of the Rio tournament
João Fonseca is back home. Just hours after winning the very first title of his career on the ATP circuit at the Buenos Aires tournament, the 18-year-old Brazilian was looking to follow it up at home in Rio de Janeiro.
Last year, it was at this same tournament that Fonseca really came into his own, as he reached the quarter-finals of the ATP 500, eliminating Arthur Fils in the first round.
At this 2025 edition, the new world No. 68 was once again up against a French player, in the person of Alexandre Muller.
The Brazilian was eagerly awaited by his fans, and received a hero's welcome after his title in Argentina a few hours earlier.
But Muller, who won his first ATP title in Hong Kong against Kei Nishikori at the start of the season, was in confident mood.
Faced with the pressure of a new status and the need to defend his points from last year, Fonseca didn't have the match he was looking for, and came up against a very good Muller who put up some good tactical opposition.
In the end, Alexandre Muller scored a fine victory on clay (6-1, 7-6 in 1h32 of play) and reached the second round, putting an end to João Fonseca's hopes of lifting the trophy in front of his supporters, who had been present in the Argentine capital last week to cheer him on from the stands.
Muller will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who earlier in the day defeated another French player in Corentin Moutet, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Fonseca, meanwhile, missed out on a reunion with his home crowd. Ranked 68th on the ATP rankings this week, he will drop to 76th at the very least at the end of this Rio de Janeiro tournament, where he made his third appearance in the main draw after 2023 and 2024.
