OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

August 5, 2026

Joao Fonseca

Press Conference

J. FONSECA/St. Tsitsipas

7-6(3), 7-5

JOAO FONSECA

Q. Congratulations for the victory. It was tight match, but you managed to get through in the end. How did you feel out there?

JOAO FONSECA: Yeah. Felt really good on court today. Mean, mentally and physically pretty good. Started pretty focused on the match, and very intense.

I knew it was going to be difficult. My last match with him was pretty tight. It was Davis Cup, of course, another atmosphere. But I knew it was going to be a good battle.

Yeah, for sure, center court a little bit more, how can I say, the ball bounced a little bit more. And it was pretty well in the first half for him. And I got the early break, and then after he followed.

But happy with my mental today. After having 5-4 in the second set, serving for the match, lost some opportunities, but I knew it was going to be difficult, tense.

I'm one month without playing. So I'll think a little bit more. I knew it. And very happy with the way I stayed focus and could break again and then serve for the match very well.

Q. How satisfying was it -- you just touched on it -- to break him right away after he broke you at 5-5?

JOAO FONSECA: It was pretty good for me. I'm very happy how I handled the situation pretty good. I stayed very focused. I knew like I needed to make my returns. I knew he would feel a little bit more the nervousness as well. And I was confident with my shots. So very happy about it.

Q. Stefanos complained about the surface being uneven in places. Did you notice anything special about the surface?

JOAO FONSECA: Well, I saw a little bit, like when I play in the practice courts, I felt a little bit bouncy, but in the center court it's a little bit more bouncy. Sometimes when he hits his backhand, which has more spin, higher, sometimes the ball bounced a little bit, and it's difficult to read it.

But, yeah, after I got used to it. So, yeah, you need to adapt to the circumstances of the court and, yeah, you need to find solutions.

Q. At one point Stefanos was like the next big thing. He was supposed to dethrone Djokovic, Nadal, Sinner. Now a lot of people are talking about you as the next member maybe. Did you ever draw any comparison between like the early stage of his career and yours?

JOAO FONSECA: I don't like very much comparisons. I know everyone has their own time. Everyone has their own career.

We can see Stef winning so much in his big days and now struggling again, finding again to where he belongs, because I know he's a good fighter. He has good tennis.

So, yeah, of course, everyone has their own time, and I'm just focusing on my history, and if people say you're going to be the next, I don't know, Guga, Nadal, I don't want to be them. I just want to be me, and I'm trying to make my own history and focus on what I need to do to improve and, yeah, to be a better person and a better athlete.

Q. Recently Novak Djokovic mentioned that the scoring system might need a serious overhaul, that it needs to be changed. He mentioned that games or sets should be played up to 4 instead of 6 and then best of 5 instead of best of 3. What are your opinion about that?

JOAO FONSECA: Well, I had a good time playing 4 games, 4-game sets in the Next Gen. So I can't complain about it. But I think he's saying that because of his physique, you know. (Laughs). He's getting older. Well, that's what I can say.

I mean, I don't say bad things or good things, but I know it's more about the classic tennis, the history of tennis and the tennis being 6 games during the sets, it's important. I think it's classic tennis. It's the history of tennis. So, yeah. But I can't complain because I had good results with it.