'I saw the ball out' - Joao Fonseca has his say on technology confusion during Eastbourne debut win
Joao Fonseca has had his say on a bizarre moment during his first professional grass win on his Lexus Eastbourne Open debut.
Brazilian teenage sensation Fonseca showed his class and fighting spirit, as he came from a set down to beat Zizou Bergs on Monday (June 23).
Belgium star Bergs, 26, and Fonseca, 18, played out a fiercely competitive opening set which had to be settled by a tie-breaker.
There was a bizarre moment of controversy when Bergs, on set point, hit what he thought was a winner – with the court-side graphic showing the ball as in. This was despite the ball initially being called out and caused a great deal of confusion on centre court.
However, after a further review, the point was given to Fonseca with the automatic technology deemed to have made a mistake.
Nevertheless, Bergs won the tie-break anyway after saving a set point.
Asked by the Eastbourne Herald how the incident unfolded from his perspective, Fonseca said: “I saw the ball out, that's what my view was, and I didn't see that the call was saying in.
"That's why I asked the referee what happened, and he said, oh, there was a video review, and the ball was in, it was saying it was in.
"And then I said, ‘no way I'm going to lose a set like this’. Like I said, there came a little bit of luck of my side, and then after came a little bit of luck of his side [with the net cord winner] so the game is like this, and you need to find a way to win.”
Fonseca is tipped to be among the best players in tennis. He followed in the footsteps of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in December, before lifting the Argentina Open title two months later.
The youngster showed he has the ability to turn matches around, with a strong mindset, on his Eastbourne debut.
Asked how he is able to avoid frustration after losing a tight first-set, he said: “When I finished the set, my coach said to me when I was serving for the first game, stay focused, continue in the game, things are going to change, stay focused, and then things change. You just need to stay mentally positive, and still believe.
“When you play on grass, things happen too fast. There was a tough first set where both sides were nervous, and we were just making our serves, doing great in our service games, and on the tie-break, it could go to both sides.
“He got the first set, and I needed to stay mentally focused, and that's what I tried to do in the beginning of the second set.
"I actually have someone that teaches me to breathe, and he's my coach of breathing. When I'm in Rio, I do a lot of lessons with him, and it helps me to calm down, and to not be stressed all the time.
"I do some exercise with breathing every day and before the match. I normally do it during the match."
In her own media roundtable, Emma Raducanu told reporters that the wind in Eastbourne was impacting her practice sessions, in a negative way.
Asked how he found the wind, Fonseca said: “It's difficult. Even if it's not coming from the same side, sometimes going from the left side, sometimes going from the right side, you never know.
"I had a set point, the first set, where his return was going a lot wide, and the wind just came with the ball in, so I lost this set point.
"So sometimes it's difficult, but it's from both sides, it's not always for you, so you need to manage your way to find a win. You need to adapt, you can't say no more wind.”
On how is enjoying life on tour, Fonseca added: “I'm loving the life on tour, getting to know new people, new tournaments, every week is an experience to learn.
"My next match is going to be against the top five players [Taylor Fritz], so it's another new experience.
“It's going to be my first time in Wimbledon, so more learning, enjoying, and hopefully I can stay here on the tour for 15 more years.”