João Fonseca is out of the Italian Open after losing to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan in straight sets 6-3, 7-6.
Fonseca attempted a comeback in the second set after a dominant opening nine games from Marozsan, in which the eventual winner dropped just five points on serve.
The Brazilian star picked up a maiden career title on the clay courts of Buenos Aires earlier this year, but has struggled to get it going this clay season.
Fonseca, the Next Gen ATP Finals champion, has now bowed out in the early rounds of the Madrid Open, the Estoril Challenger event, and now the Italian Open.
With the 18-year-old poised to become the next big star in tennis, he’ll need to make some adjustments in his development. Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier had his say on what his coaching team need to do.
Jim Courier says Joao Fonseca’s coaching team needs to ‘bring him back’ and ‘educate him’
Speaking on the Tennis Channel Live podcast after Fonseca’s defeat, Courier said: “I think realistically a good outcome for him would be the fourth round.
“He is not going to be seeded and is going to have to battle his way into that type of environment. It’s best of five sets, he has shown in Australia that he can handle that against Rublev.”
“But we shall see. The expectations have changed now and maybe that’s a part of the situation today [losing to Marozan].”
“There was a huge amount of Brazilians out there, a lot of energy, and it sounded and looked really cool when I was watching it this morning, but it’s easy for an 18-year-old with that much horsepower to want to show it off, but he needs a harness right now.
“That is where his coaching team is going to have to bring him back and educate him. This is all part of the process. He is hugely exciting.”
Joao Fonseca’s season so far
After winning the Next Gen ATP Finals against Learner Tien in December, Fonseca got off to a good start in 2025, winning a Challenger tournament in Canberra.
Having made it through the qualifying stage of the Australian Open, the young star made it to the second round in his first appearance at the major, in which he defeated Andrey Rublev in straight sets, before losing to Lorenzo Sonego in the following round.
Fonseca immediately bounced back after the second-round exit, by winning his first tour-level title in Buenos Aires, overcoming Francisco Cerundolo in the final.
| Tournament | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | Second Round | Lorenzo Sonego (L) |
| Argentina Open | Winner | Francisco Cerundolo (W) |
| Rio Open | First Round | Alexandre Muller (L) |
| Indian Wells | Second Round | Jack Draper (L) |
| Miami Open | Third Round | Alex de Minaur (L) |
| Madrid Open | Second Round | Tommy Paul (L) |
| Italian Open | First Round | Fabian Marozsan (L) |
Since then, the Brazilian has found deep tournament runs hard to come by on the ATP Tour, with early exits in Rio, Indian Wells, Miami, and Madrid.
Fonseca did win a Challenger in March at the Arizona Tennis Classic in Phoenix, but he will look to go further at the high-level events as his season continues.
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