Joao Fonseca enjoyed a strong start to his clay-court swing at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he achieved a career-best result.
Fonseca reached the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo, beating Gabriel Diallo, Arthur Rinderknech and Matteo Berrettini en route.
The Brazilian secured his best finish ever at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament by advancing to the last eight before being knocked out by Alexander Zverev in a closely contested three-set match.
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His next chance at a Masters event comes in the form of the Madrid Open, which was the first competition at the 1000 level he appeared at, having made his debut in 2024.
When he takes to the courts in the Spanish capital, Fonseca will experience a career first.
Joao Fonseca will be a seeded player at the 2026 Madrid Open
Following Novak Djokovic‘s withdrawal from the tournament, Fonseca will officially be a seeded player at the Madrid Open.
Fonseca has never been seeded at a Masters 1000 event before, having competed at 11 of them in total.
Where do you think Joao Fonseca will be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
At this year’s edition of the Madrid Open, Fonseca will receive a bye in the opening round and won’t have to face another seeded player until at least round three.
The official draw for the Madrid Open will take place on Monday, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner still doubtful to feature.
Joao Fonseca’s results at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in 2026
After failing to make it past the third round at ATP Masters 1000 events for the entirety of 2025, Fonseca has enjoyed better results in 2026 so far.
He started off the Masters series with a strong campaign at the Indian Wells Open, reaching the fourth round in the first leg of the Sunshine Double.
There, Fonseca beat seeded players Karen Khachanov and Tommy Paul to advance to round four, where he was knocked out by Sinner.
Fonseca took Sinner to two tiebreaks, however, and was equally competitive against Alcaraz in round two of the Miami Open, whom he lost to 6-4, 6-4.
The 19-year-old then made the Monte-Carlo quarterfinals, where he truly showed what he is capable of on the biggest stages.
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