Fonseca drops to 22nd in the world and bows out in the 2nd round of the US Open

The 19-year-old player from Rio de Janeiro concludes his first year competing in the main draw of the four Grand Slams. In all of them, the phenomenon, who is already ranked 44th, won in the opening round and progressed at least to the second round—reaching the third round in Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Machac will face the winner of the match between Jakub Mensik, seeded 16th, and Ugo Blanchet in the next round. The match to determine the opponent will be played tomorrow, at a time yet to be confirmed by the organization. João Fonseca now turns his focus to the Davis Cup in September. The team event is the next scheduled commitment for the Brazilian, who will represent the team facing Greece in Athens on the 13th of the next month. Interesting fact: With Fonseca’s defeat, Brazil completes ten years without a male representative in the third round of the US Open. The last player to reach that stage was Thomaz Belucci in 2015 when he lost to Andy Murray. First set slips away by a narrow margin João and Machac were confidently holding their service games in the opening set. The Brazilian was dominant when serving, hitting powerful shots, but the Czech player responded equally and did not allow Fonseca to feel comfortable. Dealing with pressure from the court and the stands, the 21st seed delivered strong returns, excelled at the net approaches, and kept the score close.