By Clare Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) -Brazil’s Joao Fonseca displayed an ice-cool temperament to overcome a partisan crowd and a couple of rocky moments in his confident 6-4 6-1 7-6(5) win over Briton Jacob Fearnley as temperatures exceeded 30 degrees Celsius at Wimbledon on Monday.
“In summer, Rio is very, very hot. I’m more used (to it) than European people,” the 18-year-old said.
The world number 54, who has been rocketing up the rankings over the last year, said he was very nervous on his Wimbledon main-draw debut but it did not show.
“I think my serves helped me a lot with the nerves today. I served really well,” he said.
At 4-4 and 0-40 down in the first set and with 51st-ranked Fearnley looking in good form, the ice set in and Fonseca rattled off the next 15 points in a row to take the set and hit the second set running.
“He was playing better,” Fonseca said. “Probably if he broke me, he was going to do the set and things could go easier for him.”
Fearnley threatened to get back into the match in the third-set tiebreak, going 5-2 up, but in similar fashion the Brazilian teenager found that steely cold temperament and produced two aces in a row.
“When he was serving 5-2, he made a double-fault. I said to myself, ‘That’s my chance’,” Fonseca said.
“So very happy with the way I could manage the important points doing good serves and increasing the level.”
Fonseca, a former junior number one, has a large and vocal following at home, but he heard only a couple of voices in Portuguese in the crowd on Monday.
“Normally I play with the crowd. The crowd is normally on my side,” he said, while adding that the spectators were respectful despite favouring his opponent.
(Reporting by Clare Lovell; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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