Home favourite Joao Fonseca crashes out in Rio Open - Alexandre Muller prevails in straight sets

Alexandre Muller pulled off an upset by eliminating Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca with a 6-1, 7-6 victory, securing his spot in the second round of the ATP 500 Rio Open. Expectations were high for the 18-year-old Brazilian, especially after his title run at the Argentina Open just a week ago.

Fonseca entered the tournament having won 18 of his last 19 matches, including his performances at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Challenger Canberra, and the Australian Open qualifying rounds. However, fatigue from a demanding week in Buenos Aires seemed to take a toll, and Muller took full advantage of the teenager’s errors.

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The first set saw Fonseca (No. 68) struggling to find his rhythm, unable to sustain rallies and committing constant unforced errors. Muller (No. 60) did not need to do much to secure back-to-back breaks and race to a 5-0 lead against an unrecognisable Fonseca compared to his form last week.

Although the South American managed to hold serve for the first time and avoid a bagel, Muller closed out the set 6-1 on serve in just 29 minutes. Fonseca won only 40% of his service points, while Muller dominated with 71%.

In the second set, Fonseca significantly raised his level as he grew more comfortable on court. The Brazilian improved his first-serve percentage from 47% to 79%, a key factor in staying competitive against Muller. Meanwhile, the Frenchman remained focused on serve, not facing a single break point throughout the set.

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Everything came down to the tie-break, where unforced errors once again proved costly for Fonseca. The Brazilian showed flashes of brilliance, but his inconsistency prevailed. Muller sealed the 6-1, 7-6(7-4) victory, eliminating the home crowd’s big hope. There were a total of 34 unforced errors for Fonseca against only 14 for Muller.

In the Round of 16, he will face 8th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry (No. 43) from Argentina, who defeated Corentin Moutet (No. 66) in the first round.

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