AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 20, 2026

Joao Fonseca

Press Conference

E. SPIZZIRRI/J. Fonseca

6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: How do you assess your performance considering you didn't have too much time to prepare for this first Grand Slam of the year?

JOAO FONSECA: I felt I played good. I didn't play very bad, but I didn't play good as well. I felt I wasn't 100% yet. I'm not saying about pain or injuries. I'm saying about preparation of physique.

I will say I needed more time. Since beginning of Brisbane, I wasn't playing, and then I came back, but slowly. Then I stopped again. So I was almost, like, 15 days without hitting 100%, very intense.

I got slowly back on court here in Melbourne, so I felt I needed more rhythm. I needed more time to prepare physique.

Yeah, I tried my best today. Yeah, I think bad that I wasn't 100% playing, but at the same time, it gives me maturity to keep going, to understand my body, to understand my limits. Hopefully I'm still young and I'm still getting experience from that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. In retrospect, do you regret coming here or do you think it will help launch your season?

JOAO FONSECA: I think everything is...

I don't regret at all. I think there are things in life that you need to get positive things from it, so I think the positive things -- well, my back is 100%. I'm healthy again. I just needed time.

So it was good to see how to deal with a five-set match and with the physique not 100%. I was getting tired earlier and I was not, like I said, 100%. I needed rhythm.

But it's good to have those experience, how I said, to see your limits, to see how it can go. Yeah, I don't regret a thing.

Q. What was the timeline from when you first started to feel the pain in the back and the decisions you made to not play in Brisbane?

JOAO FONSECA: It was just before Brisbane. Like, two days before. I already talked about this. But yeah, it was practicing. Now, well, I didn't feel it today. Didn't feel it yesterday.

Yeah, feeling good. I think it's already 100%.

Q. In the preseason you were feeling good? There were no problems?

JOAO FONSECA: Yeah, yeah, no problems.

Q. Just curious mentally how challenging is it coming into a slam knowing that, as you said, you're not 100%, you're not as prepared as you wanted to be? I imagine maybe it can add a bit more stress and tension.

JOAO FONSECA: I mean, a little. I would say not as confident as I was. Maybe not feeling 100% ready, but at the same time, when I stepped on court I was giving 100%.

Yeah, today wasn't the day. But I think I'm still confident, I'm still playing good. I'm having some good practices. I just need rhythm.

I think this season is going to be great for me.

Q. What does your immediate schedule look like now in terms of training? Are you going to play South America, Europe? If you play South America, is it strange to have done a big preseason for one hard court match and then switching to clay?

JOAO FONSECA: It is. It is strange, but tennis life is like this.

I worked a lot to play minimum three weeks. Hopefully four or five. But unfortunately I only played one match. Yeah, that's tennis life.

Unfortunately, I had an early injury of the season, but now back to Brazil and practice on clay and, yeah, playing Buenos Aires and Rio Open. It's the next two goals.

Q. Despite not being as prepared as you would like to be, what about his game did you find problematic today?

JOAO FONSECA: I think he served really well. I mean, good returns. He put a lot of returns. That's one thing that the top players do a lot, they put a lot of pressure on the guy's return.

I mean, they put a lot of balls, and they put a lot of pressure on your service game. So, yeah, he did it really well today. I think he served plus one as well. I think he stayed really well mentally. Maybe if I got the first game in the third set that I had Love-40, but he stayed low. He closed the doors. After this, he kept with the intensity, and I couldn't hold it.

Yeah, maybe if I got the game, maybe things would go seriously. But it's a maybe. Tennis is a lot of with maybes. I think he played well, and congrats to him.

Q. Obviously you missed Brisbane and Adelaide with your injury, but do you think in terms of next year, you might look to change up the preparation by playing one tournament like the United Cup coming in? Do you think that hard court, clay court, hard court schedule might be a problem in future years and you might skip the clay even if it means missing the tournament in Rio?

JOAO FONSECA: That's my second year on tour, and I'm just trying to figure out what's best for me. But at the moment I'm just thinking about my next tournament. I'm not thinking about, I don't know, two years from now what I'm going to play.

I just thinking week by week and, yeah, trying to do better results. I don't know if I'm playing United or, I don't know, playing Brisbane or Adelaide again.

But, yeah, let's see in the future.