Dan Evans: Briton still ‘work in progress’ despite impressive win at Eastbourne
In Eastbourne, Brazilian Joao Fonseca, who scored high points, defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in three sets and demanded his first ATP tour win at Grass.
18-year-old Fonseca survived the defeat of the bruising tie break on the opening set and demanded nine consecutive games on the way to defeat 6-7 6-0 6-3 in two hours seven minutes.
Hype continues around Brazil’s newest sports superstar. Fonseca, who ranks 57th in the world, defeated Andrey Ruber in January in January, attracted global attention and has fans including Novak Djokovic.
In the second round in Eastbourne, he will have the chance to test himself against the best in the world, and the champion and the best seed that prevails here will face Taylor Fritz.
Im I am very happy to win my first match at Grass, Fon said Fonseca after his victory. “Eastbourne is a very nice place.
“In the second set, I was in trouble and I was more confident in myself. We were both nervous in the third, so I just had to focus on my service.
“To play Fritz is a good experience and the crowd is good – I see Brazilian shirts that are really beautiful.”
The first set lasted 66 minutes, and the service prevailed without a single breaking point until Bergs had a tie break.
However, Fonseca ran to 6-0 in 24 minutes by getting Bergs 25 points to eight points, Belgium’s level fell significantly in the second set.
Bergs briefly stopped Fonseca’s momentum on the decision-making set, but the perfectly measured half-volleyball Forehand Dink made young people forward before the match.
