Joao Fonseca will be back in action at the Australian Open on Thursday, trying to build on his win over Andrey Rublev when he faces Lorenzo Sonego. Frances Tiafoe meets Fabian Marozan in round two.
(Q) Joao Fonseca vs. Lorenzo Sonego
Fonseca is the talk of the tennis world after knocking out Andrey Rublev in straight sets during first-round action at the Australian Open on Tuesday night. Of course, the hype is not just about beating Rublev. After all, it’s not like Fonseca upset Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic. What’s arguably even more impressive than dismissing the world No. 9 is the overall sample size of Fonseca’s success at just 18 years old. He won the NextGen ATP Finals last month and dating back to that result he is on a 14-match winning streak. The Brazilian is 9-0 this year and has not lost a single set.
Up next for tennis’ newest sensation on Thursday is Sonego, whom Fonseca has already faced in the very early stages of his career. They met on the clay courts of Bucharest last spring, where Fonseca prevailed 7-6(5), 7-5. Things don’t figure to get any better for Sonego given the improvement his opponent has shown in the short nine months since that matchup. The 55th-ranked Italian did well to defeat Stan Wawrinka in four sets on Tuesday, but he is on a disastrous streak of 10 consecutive events without advancing past a second round. With Fonseca on the other side of the net, that drought is likely to continue.
Pick: Fonseca in 3
Fabian Marozsan vs. (17) Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe looked like he was down and out of Melbourne in the first round, but he lives to see another day. The 16th-ranked American was struggling physically–including throwing up on the court–against Arthur Rinderknech but ended up surviving 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-3 after four hours and eight minutes.
The good news is that with the first round having been spread out over three days, Tiafoe gets two full days off prior to his next match. The 26-year-old should be 100 percent, and he will have to be if he wants to successfully deal with Marozsan’s game style that features all kinds of drop-shots and general junk-balling. The 59th-ranked Hungarian endured an extremely tough opener, as well, outlasting Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 in three hours and 56 minutes. Marozsan is just 6-6 lifetime in the main draw at majors, so Tiafoe has a big edge in the experience department. Look for the 17th seed to recover well and raise his level en route to a slightly more routine day at the office.
Pick: Tiafoe in 4
who ya got?
Some of us did pick Fonseca to win that but in five sets