Joao Fonseca was unable to continue his momentum at the Rio Open after losing in the first round to Alexandre Muller.
Fonseca won the Argentina Open last week to claim his maiden ATP title at just 18-years-old.
Following his first title win, Fonseca was congratulated by Carlos Alcaraz amongst many others who were excited by the emergence of this young Brazilian talent.
The Rio Open was the next tournament where he would play, with Fonseca joining Alexander Zverev at the ATP 500 event.
With a lot of anticipation ahead of his return home, Fonseca reassured fans about his fitness after a busy start to the 2025 season.
Alexandre Muller makes big prediction about Joao Fonseca
Fonseca won his first ever ATP match at the Rio Open last year against Arthur Fils, before going onto reach the quarter-finals of his home tournament.
He would play a Frenchman in the first round again, but could not replicate the same result and was instead beaten by the Muller in straight sets, losing 6-1 7-6(4).
After beating the ATP Next Gen Finals champion Fonseca, Muller paid him many compliments and claimed that the teenager would become a legend of the sport.
“One day I will tell my kids that I beat João Fonseca in the centre court of Rio de Janeiro,” Muller said in his press conference. “He will be a legend of the sport.”
Fonseca has been predicted to scale the rankings this year after reaching his career-high of world number 68.
Despite this, Fonseca will actually suffer a drop next week when he loses 100 points from his performance in the Brazilian capital last year.
Alexandre Muller says what facing the Brazilian crowd supporting Joao Fonseca was like
The South American crowds are known for being loud and getting behind local players, with Zverev criticizing the Buenos Aires attendees after his defeat to Francisco Cerundolo.
With Fonseca the new Brazilian hero, Muller was questioned about how he found facing the vocal crowd at the Rio Open.
Although Muller claimed that it was tougher than playing the Davis Cup, the world number 60 actually admitted to enjoying his time out on court.
“It was worst than Davis Cup environment,” said Muller. “In Davis Cup we would have France and Brazil. Here it was only Brazil. But it was a great experience. I stayed calm and played well tactically.”
There is now only one Brazilian player left in Thiago Monteiro, but Muller has reassured people that Fonseca is going nowhere anytime soon.
“I feel sorry for the tournament and for the fans,” added Muller. “Fonseca is a superstar here. But I wanted to win. Joao will win year for many, many years.”
Muller will now play another South American player in South American Tomas Martin Etcheverry, as he bids to reach the quarter-finals of the Rio Open.
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