Tommy Paul and Joao Fonseca played out a thriller at the Madrid Open, with the American beating the Brazilian.
Fonseca wants to reach the third round of Grand Slams, but he fell just short of that stage at the Madrid Open.
The 18-year-old beat Elmer Moller 6-2, 6-3 in Madrid, before suffering a 7-6(9-7), 7-6(7-3) defeat to Paul.
American Paul, the 11th seed at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, now takes on 24th seed Karen Khachanov in round three.
Fonseca meanwhile immediately turns his attention to the Estoril Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Portugal.
Tommy Paul sure ‘we’ll see a lot more’ of Joao Fonseca despite Madrid Open exit
Before that, Paul has spoken highly of the young Brazilian, who currently occupies 65th place in the ATP rankings.
“I thought the level was awesome from the jump,” said Paul. “He really had me on my toes. He was in every single one of my service games in the first set and he was pushing the pressure in the match very well.
“I was happy to get through those service games. My serve bailed me out quite a bit in the first set. He hits the ball very hard.
“You’ve got to run down a lot of balls. I was serve-and-volleying at smart times and using up the whole court. He’s an awesome player, he’s fun to play against, so I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him.”
How Tommy Paul’s serve ‘bailed’ him out in Madrid Open win vs Joao Fonseca
Fonseca has been taking the ATP Tour by storm in recent times, along with his impressive displays on the ATP Challenger Tour.
His rise on the big stage comes after his NextGen ATP Finals win in December, and was followed by a maiden ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open in February.
| Joao Fonseca | Stat | Tommy Paul |
| 2 | Aces | 9 |
| 2 | Double faults | 1 |
| 64/89 (72%) | First serve | 69/102 (68%) |
| 47/64 (73%) | First serve points won | 51/69 (74%) |
| 12/25 (48%) | Second serve points won | 16/33 (48%) |
| 0/1 (0%) | Break points saved | 10/11 (91%) |
| 223km/h 138 mph | Max speed | 224km/h (139 mph) |
| 195km/h (121 mph) | First serve average speed | 196km/h (121 mph) |
| 168km/h (104 mph) | Second serve average speed | 168km/h (104 mph) |
More Grand Slam success is now on his agenda, with the teenager having knocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev out of the Australian Open earlier this year.
Fonseca wants to play Novak Djokovic at Grand Slams, even with the 24-time champion in poor form as the French Open nears.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
