Alejandro Tabilo spoils Joao Fonseca’s Buenos Aires return with dramatic second-round win | ATP Tour

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Tabilo spoils Fonseca’s return in Buenos Aires to win dramatic second-round tie

Etcheverry, Kopriva, Navone advance to ATP 250

February 12, 2026

Alejandro Tabilo scored a thrilling win at the IEB+ Argentina Open on Wednesday, beating defending champion Joao Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round to extend the Brazilian’s challenging start to the 2026 season.

Despite losing the break advantage at 3-1 in the third set, Tabilo finally took advantage of Fonseca’s 33 unforced errors to seal victory on the third match point in a battle that lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes.

“I have a really strong bond with the team. They’ve helped me through it all,” Tabilow said. “We were nervous at the end, but I felt like we had a really good game, very smart tactics and outlasted him. I knew he was going to be good and I had to be really solid.”

According to Infosys ATP statistics, Tabilo won 77% (40/52) of his first serve points and saved 57% (4/7) of break points. With the victory over PIF ATP Ranking No. 33 Fonseca, Tabilo notched his first top-50 victory on clay since defeating No. 5 Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Monte Carlo ATP 1000 event last April. He will face seventh seed Thomas Martin Echeverry in the quarter-finals.

Fonseca, who withdrew from Brisbane and Adelaide with a back injury and lost in the first round of the Australian Open, was unable to withstand the Chilean’s shots. A year ago, he won his first Tour-level title in Buenos Aires. The 19-year-old former Next Generation ATP Finals champion hopes to return to form when he competes in the ATP 500 in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro next week.

Echeverry defeated fellow Argentinian Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. The Argentinian saved a set point in the first set. With the win, the 26-year-old notched his 50th tour-level clay-court victory.

Elsewhere, Vit Kopriva stopped eighth seed Matteo Berrettini in the second round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Italian. Berrettini pulled out of the Australian Open, his first match of the season, with an abdominal injury. By defeating Berrettini, Kopriva became the first Czech to reach the quarterfinals in the tournament’s history and will face top seed Francesco Cerundolo or Hugo Dallion in the quarterfinals.

Mariano Navone defeated Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-1 to book a spot in the second round.