Competing in his first tour-level match since his third-round defeat to Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon last month, Fonseca looked on course for a straight-sets finish before dropping serve while attempting to close out the match at 5-4 in the second set. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 19-year-old, however, won eight of the next nine points to seal victory and become the first Brazilian to reach the third round at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event since ATP No. 1 Club member Gustavo Kuerten.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think Joao from last year would\u2019ve lost his mind,\u201d Fonseca said in his on-court interview. \u201cI\u2019m a more mature Joao [now]. It\u2019s been a couple of weeks without playing, so I knew, serving for the match, I would be a little bit more tense. I felt good, played some good returns, and then put the pressure on him. I think I needed that break at 5-5.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Having also defeated Tsitsipas in Davis Cup action last year, Fonseca improved to 2-0 in their ATP head-to-head series. The #NextGenATP star will next face ninth seed Casper Ruud or Juan Manuel Cerundolo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After falling to qualifier Tristan Schoolkate in his opening match at this event in 2025, Fonseca was determined to make a winning start this time around. The former Next Gen ATP Finals champion and two-time tour-level champion now owns a 17-12 record in 2026, according to the ATP Win\/Loss Index, highlighted by his run to the Roland Garros quarterfinals in June, when he upset Novak Djokovic along the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Having also defeated Tsitsipas in Davis Cup action last year, Fonseca improved to 2-0 in their ATP head-to-head series. The #NextGenATP star will next face ninth seed Casper Ruud or Juan Manuel Cerundolo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Tsitsipas, who reached the final in Canada in 2018, has been working his way back into form this season. The former World No. 3 claimed his first title in 16 months in Gstaad nearly three weeks ago and leaves Montreal up six places to No. 47 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n