Amidst massive expectations in front of the home crowd, Joao Fonseca lost in the Rio Open first round last season.
The Brazilian had an excuse. He was coming off the biggest moment of his career, having captured his first ATP title in Buenos Aires just a couple of days earlier. With little rest, Fonseca fell right away in Rio de Janeiro to Alexandre Muller in straight sets.
Fonseca will look to make amends this week, and this time around he is well rested. The 19-year-old lost in the Buenos Aires fist round to Alejandro Tabilo, so he has not taken the court since last Wednesday. Of course, the bad news is that Fonseca is short on confidence. The world No. 38 has not won a single match in 2026, having succumbed to Eliot Spizzirri in the Australian Open first round.
Fonseca’s opening match of the week will come against a fellow Brazilian, Thiago Monteiro, on Tuesday. Monteiro has been in terrible form, which is why he registers outside the top 200 in the world (currently 208th). However, the 31-year-old did well to qualify for the main draw over the weekend — securing his spot with victories over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and Dusan Lajovic.
A matchup with a countryman is not necessarily a bad thing for Fonseca. The crowd support may not be as out of control as it otherwise would be, but it also may not feel like the entire weight of the country is on his shoulders. Despite being well short of his best these days, Fonseca should coast past a far inferior opponent.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
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