Rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca was knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round after struggling physically in defeat to American Eliot Spizzirri.
Fonseca, the 28th seed, made his big breakthrough at last year’s tournament as he defeated former top-10 player Andrey Rublev, but fell at the first hurdle on his return to Melbourne as Spizzirri claimed his first Australian Open win.
The 19-year-old struggled with his movement and took a medical timeout deep into the fourth set as Spizzirri, the world No 85, won 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2.
Fonseca had been forced to miss warm-up tournaments in Brisbane and Adelaide due to a lower back injury, and did not look anywhere close his best as he played his first competitive match of the season.
Fonseca had been a potential third-round opponent for defending champion Jannik Sinner, and was highlighted by Roger Federer before the tournament as one of the up-and-coming stars who could break into Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s duopoly of the sport.
“I just think he’s more a little bit like me in the sense he needs a little bit more time to work on his game,” Federer said. “Similar to Jannik, as well, to know when to dial back and when to unload his shots. Once he figures that out, obviously the sky’s the limit. But obviously I think he’s truly one of the guys that can compete for the biggest wins.”
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