THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2025

Joao Fonseca

Press Conference

J. FONSECA/J. Brooksby

6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You're the youngest man to make the Wimbledon third round since 2011. What does that mean to you? How impressed are you with the progress you made as the year has gone on?

JOAO FONSECA: Well, thank you all for coming.

I think it's a thing to be proud of myself, for sure. It's a great achievement. I'm very proud of myself, the way that I played today also.

So yeah, it's just an opportunity to be here, to play this amazing tournament. Now being in the third round is just amazing. So very happy the way that I'm developed in this surface, I'm evolving. So happy with it.

Q. Is going to be a South American clash in the next round. What do you think is going to be the atmosphere with all the Brazilian fans and Chilean fans?

JOAO FONSECA: I know Chile fans, they're loud also. Yeah, the Brazilians are loud. It's going to be nice.

Nico is a nice person and also a nice player. He has a very good serve. He's playing good on grass. I mean, just going to be a new experience, very nice.

Actually I'm third round, so I'm just going to enjoy, play my best tennis, and hopefully I can go to the fourth.

Q. Do you have a relationship with Nico?

JOAO FONSECA: Yes, sometimes when we pass each other, we talk. Their kids also are always in the tournament. So yeah, it's fun. It's good to see those players that went through bad times and good times. It's very inspiring what he did in his career.

Q. I'm very impressed by your game. How many hours did you spend as a junior playing tennis every day?

JOAO FONSECA: Sorry, I didn't understand.

THE MODERATOR: How many hours a day when you were a junior did you play tennis?

JOAO FONSECA: I think it's the longest match I have played probably. When I was a junior, I never played those kind of, like, big matches. Normally I practiced, when I practiced, to five sets. When I'm going to a Grand Slam, I practice five sets. It's much more like three hours, three hours and a half. Today was like 3:15, 3:20, something like that.

It's on grass, the surface that is the less exhausting. It's more like serve and returns. So yeah, I'll say it was very mental today. Jensen, he's a very smart person. He has very clean shots. So today was very mental.

Q. How has your life changed since winning Next Gen? I noticed at Next Gen you had the biggest height clearance. Today you're playing a lot lower over the net against someone who hits the ball very low over the net. I wanted to understand how your game has changed to the grass.

JOAO FONSECA: I would say after indoors, like last year, I've been working a lot for my development to go more for the nets, work more on the approach, and not net points. Yeah, I'm developing a lot.

Probably after Next Gen, I mean, a lot of things has changed after I won there, I got my first title in Buenos Aires. It changed a lot.

Was 150 in the world and now I'm 50. Yeah, I'm very proud of myself. I still need to think what is going on. Like I said, a lot of has changed, people are knowing me more, putting more expectations. At the same time, I'm loving being on the tour, playing new tournaments, the big tournaments, playing against very good players, and evolving. That's the most important, evolve as a person, as an athlete.

Q. You seem very calm in the decisive moments. You were down Love-40 in the final game, but you closed it out. Do you actually prefer to play those kind of games?

JOAO FONSECA: I mean, it's good that it felt calm. Obviously I was nervous, but I knew to stay with a good posture and positive that I could go point by point with my serve. Yeah, I did pretty well this. I'm serving well here in Wimbledon.

It's good for the important points just to save with the serve. Yeah, very happy the way that I played today in the important points and the break points. When I had the break points against him with the return.

So yeah, this posture, it's important for you to believe and to stay positive when things got more tight and you go for the opportunity.

Q. Over the past 12 months, what's been the biggest improvement in your game? How have you made that improvement?

JOAO FONSECA: I think my biggest improvement is probably my mentality. I mean, I came from juniors, it's my first full year as a pro. The mentality of playing pro is very different. Sometimes you're going to play your best tennis and you're going to lose the match because, I don't know, the other player, he can find a way, find important points. Sometimes you're going to be a little bit more tight on important points.

I mean, these important points, they're very nice. So I think, yeah, the thing that I most improved is the mentality.

Q. When you play a guy like Jensen, pretty unorthodox style of play, how much do you adjust your game?

JOAO FONSECA: Well, I kind of play my game. I like to play aggressive, go for the shots. Jensen is a very solid guy. He hits clean both sides. He has a very good backhand where he can get some good angles. Well, I mean, I think he fits a lot on grass.

Yeah, I'm still improving a lot on grass. Today my serve was really well. What I kind of adjust was stay more in the points, being more solid, aggressive, but with not going very much for the lines. Playing well in the important points. Yeah, things that I have been working with my team, yeah. I think that's it.