"Being with these guys, the whole team experience is just amazing" - Joao Fonseca relishing Laver Cup experience after raising team moral with key victory

While it may not have been a great start to Team World's Laver Cup ambitions, it was another historic day for Joao Fonseca, who became the youngest player to feature at the event.

He broke the record that Jakub Mensik held a few hours before he stepped onto the court to face Flavio Cobolli. The Italian took an early advantage, but the 19-year-old stepped up and won the last four games to seal set one.

He carried on his good form into set two, confirming his advantage after a key break of his opponent's serve after he had just got back in it. He confirmed the victory at the first time of asking, getting Team World's first and only point on the board in day one.

Fonseca caught the eye of many after a fantastic display. This included the Tennis Channel, whom he spoke to after his win, alongside Team World vice captain Pat Rafter. On his performance, Fonseca said: "I think I played good tennis from the beginning. I was hitting the ball well and putting a lot of pressure. Of course, I was a little bit more nervous in the beginning and made some easy mistakes, which is normal. He’s a more experienced guy, already in the top 20, and he knows how to play in those circumstances. I kept it going. My teammates helped me a lot to stay positive early on and keep holding serve. Then I had the chance to break him down, and that’s when the confidence came back. They probably helped me a lot too."

The Brazilian is lapping up the experience, enjoying his time representing Team World in San Francisco. He described the experience as 'amazing', and praised Rafter for his contributions.

"Being with these guys, the whole team experience is just amazing," he said. "In the locker room, eating together—it’s incredible. All the Americans here are super fun, and the whole team is. This guy [gestures to Rafter] is pure comedy. He’s teaching me a lot—serve and volley, chip and charge, going to the net. Best in the game. He was telling me he was going to chip and charge on the very first point, and I said, 'Oh, I don’t think we worked on that for the last four days.'"

His team went 2-0 behind in the day session. Reilly Opelka and Alex Michelsen were overcome by Casper Ruud and Mensik earlier that day. Despite this, Fonseca remained positive and shrugged off any pressure going into his match, with a win key for the team.

"I knew this match was going to be difficult and very important for our team. We were 2-0 down. Michelsen played a good, tight match, but he was a little bit nervous at the start and then found a way through. It was just one little point in the match tiebreak, and suddenly it was 2-0 for Team Europe. I was warming up in the locker room after the opening, and at 18:45 I saw the guys sitting at the dinner table like this [slouches], and I said, 'Come on guys, it’s just 2-0, it’s the first day.' I knew how important this match was to bring some vibe back to the team. Everyone was supporting. I want to thank Alex and Fran especially because they talked to me a lot during the match. That’s the vibe, that’s the energy that makes Team World."

Rafter admitted that it was hard to make an impact in such a short space of time, while praising the team captain, Andre Agassi, citing his tactical vision.

"You don’t get to see them for very long, to be honest," the Aussie said. "There’s only a very little impact you can have with them. They’re playing their own game, doing their own thing, and playing lots of tennis. Andre’s so good tactically on the baseline side of things. I just try to help change some variations in their game, because this court is very difficult to play on. It suits Joao’s game to a large degree, but at the same time you’ve got to use your brain out there. And this kid knows how to use it—we saw that tonight. To me, it just shows what’s to come. He hasn’t reached his potential—he’s a long way from it. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next couple of years."

It was revealed that after the match, Opelka gave an interview stating that the young Brazilian's win shifted the moral of the team, causing for more upbeat and positive moods in the camp. When questioned on the chemistry within the team, he said: "What I loved about it is that the guys put in an unbelievable effort. They tried so hard, they fought so hard—all three of them. But the results just weren’t going our way. We were sitting there thinking, every match is so tight and evenly fought—where are we going to pick up our wins?

"We had confidence in all the guys, but it wasn’t going our way. Seeing Joao turn that momentum around hopefully gives our boys a good chance in the doubles, which they’re competing very well in. Momentum is huge in any sport, and tennis has it too. In terms of energy, I think it’s always there. But I’m going to go home and sleep very well tonight because I’ve used a lot of nervous energy. I’m also excited to be here, watching these guys play, learning a lot myself. Hopefully over the next couple of years we get a bit more buy-in and can help their games even more."