Dan Evans: Despite an impressive victory at Eastbourne, the British are still “in progress”
Earlier in Eastbourne, highly rated Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca won his first ATP Tour on the grass after defeating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in three sets.
Fonseca, 18, recovered from a contusional tiebreak loss in the opening game, defeating Bergs 6-7 6-0 6-3 in two hours and 7 minutes.
The hype is centering around young people labeled Brazil’s latest sports superstar. Fonseca, the world’s highest-ranked career-high No. 57, drew global attention and admired admirers including Novak Djokovic in January.
He will have another chance to fight the world’s best in the second round at Eastbourne, where he will face defending champion and top seed Taylor Fritz.
“I’m so glad to win my first game on the grass,” Fonseca said after the victory. “Estborn is a really good place.
“In the second set, he had trouble and I was more confident. In the third set, we were both nervous, so I just had to focus on serving.
“It was a great experience to play with Fritz, the crowd was great – I saw some Brazilian shirts and it was really good.”
The first set lasted 66 minutes and was dominated by a serving without a single breakpoint until the victory, and Bergus won the game 10-8.
However, Belgium’s level dropped significantly in the second set, while Fonseca scored 6-0 in 24 minutes with 25 points and Bergs’ eight points.
Bergs briefly stopped Fonseca’s momentum in the decision suit, but throughout the court, a perfect half-Wolley forehand Half-Volley led 4-2 in the game, before he played.
