Alex de Minaur is into the fourth round of the Miami Open after defeating Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca 5-7 7-5 6-3 in a two-hour, 33-minute match at the Hard Rock Stadium. The Australian overcame thousands of Brazilian fans chanting JOAO. FONSECA. JOAO. FONSECA., pushing him to give it his all.
De Minaur took this in his stride, blocked out the noise, and silenced the crowd with a dramatic victory in the third round. The No. 10 seed triumphed in the first meeting with world no. 60 Joao Fonseca. De Minaur, in the post-match interview, acknowledged that it was a hell of a battle, and he knew what to expect.
He lauded the Brazilian teen as an incredibly talented, dangerous, and explosive player. De Minaur believes that Fonseca is playing with immense confidence right now as he has nothing to lose. He told reporters that with the crowd supporting his opponent, he knew what he was up against. “It was gonna take every single ounce of me, I just put my head down and got to work.”
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Alex de Minaur Counters Joao Fonseca Rio With Aggressive Play
With the crowd roaring for Fonseca, it was both a physical and mental battle for Alex de Minaur. Umpire Mohamed Lahyani tried his best to calm down the crowd, chiding them in Portuguese and Spanish for calling out during rallies and in between first and second serves.
Despite the noise, De Minaur dominated the match. He said when you’re playing an opponent that hits over the cover off the ball, you have to do your best to try to neutralize when you can. The Australian said the game plan was to get Fonseca on the move, and try to make it as physical. This eeked Fonseca. The teenager smashed his racquet in frustration when De Minaur broke his serve twice.
To counter the crowd at the end of the match, De Minaur signed the camera lens with a cheeky message calling the tournament Rio Open.
