Joao Fonseca won his first match at the 2026 Munich Open, defeating Alejandro Tabilo with a score of 7-6, 6-3. Fonseca attributed his success to better handling of the chilly conditions during the match.
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Joao Fonseca came out on top in his opening match at the 2026 Munich Open, beating Alejandro Tabilo 7-6, 6-3.
It was a solid start for Fonseca, who handled the chilly conditions better than his opponent. Both players struggled early on, but as the match went on, Fonseca found his rhythm and played with more freedom.
After the match, Fonseca spoke about the challenging weather and how it impacted his performance.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
āIt was a little bit cold, so I needed a good warm-up to stay alive in this match,ā Fonseca said after the match.
āEven in the breaks, my hand was freezing, but Iām happy with the fight today.ā
Fonseca was asked if it had been tough adjusting from Monte Carloās warm weather to the colder temperatures in Munich.
āI mean, thatās tennis,ā he replied.
āEvery week is a different surface, different type of clay, altitude here, different weather. You need to adapt, you have one or two days to adapt, and yeah, thatās tennis. Whoever adapts better is going to have better results.ā
The Brazilian handled it well against Tabilo and looked comfortable throughout much of the match. Afterward, he spoke about his experience playing against Tabilo:
Fonseca now prepares for Arthur Rinderknech in the next roundāa player he recently defeated on his way to the quarter-finals at Monte Carlo.
āWe had a three-set match; heās serving pretty well. Here at altitude, itās difficult,ā Fonseca continued.āBut Iām very confident and playing good tennis, so Iām ready for the next round.āFonseca will face Rinderknech again on Wednesday 15th April.
Fonseca continues to impress this year, building on the potential that many have already seen in him.
Still just 19, heās already collected two ATP titles and reached as high as world No. 24. Thatās quite a rĆ©sumĆ© for someone so early in their career.
It hasnāt all been easy, though. He opened the year with back-to-back losses but quickly steadied the ship after that slow start.
His solid performances at Indian Wells and Monte Carlo have helped him bounce back well since then.
Fonseca hasnāt dropped a match to anyone ranked outside the top three since his loss to Ignacio Buse in February, a streak thatās lifted him up to No. 31 in the live rankings.
A strong clay-court swing could push him even higher ahead of this yearās French Open, where heāll be looking for a deeper run after last yearās third-round exit. The tournament kicks off on May 18th.
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Joao Fonseca won the match against Alejandro Tabilo with a score of 7-6, 6-3.
The chilly weather conditions posed challenges for both players, but Fonseca managed to adapt better than Tabilo.
After the match, Fonseca mentioned that the tough weather conditions impacted his performance but he was able to find his rhythm as the match progressed.
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