London, June 30 (IANS) Brazilian youngster Joao Fonseca made an immediate impact at the majors with a classy debut at Wimbledon, racing past home favourite Jacob Fearnley in straight sets in the first round on Monday. The Brazilian NextGenATP star defeated Fearnley 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(5) to become the first 18-year-old to reach the second round at the grass major since Carlos Alcaraz in 2021.

Another debutant and French qualifier, Valentin Royer, also advanced to the next round as Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to retire during his Wimbledon opener on Monday due to a back injury.

Royer led 6-3, 6-2 against the Greek, who received a medical timeout in the second set due to a back issue. The former World No. 3 Tsitsipas looked in discomfort at times during the 74 minutes on the court and struggled with his movement and serve, making just 43 percent of his first deliveries.

In his first match at Wimbledon, Fonseca produced a powerful display throughout and kept his cool in his only real moment of peril, when set point down at 5-6, 30/40 in the third set.

“It means a lot. It’s super special for me,” said Fonseca in his on-court interview after the match. “It’s my favourite Grand Slam since my childhood. I’ve been watching all the matches, so it’s just a pleasure being here. I’m sorry for winning against a British guy, but thanks a lot for the support here. Thanks for respecting the tennis today. Jacob is a great friend, a great player, and I’m looking forward to my next meetings against him.”

Before January’s Australian Open, Fonseca had not played a main-draw match at a Grand Slam tournament. Yet the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals champion stunned then-Top 10 star Andrey Rublev in Melbourne to announce himself on the world stage.

After lifting his maiden ATP Tour title in February in Buenos Aires, the Brazilian then reached the third round of a major for the first time at Roland Garros.

Even with those recent standout performances in mind, the way Fonseca dismantled Fearnley at Wimbledon was impressive. Although he played in qualifying for the event last year, the teenager had contested only four tour-level matches on grass before Monday’s clash. He nonetheless had no trouble bringing his clean-hitting game to his least-familiar surface against Fearnley.

In his first match, Tsitsipas, coached by former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, left SW19 holding a 19-13 record on the season. The 26-year-old is the second men’s seed to fall on Day 1, joining Daniil Medvedev.

Tsitsipas is currently 22nd in the ATP Live Race To Turin, having failed to advance beyond the third round in any of his previous five events. The Greek is a former champion at the ATP Finals, competing at the prestigious year-end event on five consecutive occasions from 2019 to 2023. Tsitsipas’ best result this year came in Dubai, where he lifted his 12th tour-level trophy.

–IANS

bsk/