Joao Fonseca has faced several new challenges in his first full season on the main tour in 2025, and this week in Paris has tested both his physical and mental resilience. He managed to come through successfully, partly helped by his opponent Denis Shapovalov’s inconsistency. Despite dealing with some fitness concerns during the match, Fonseca battled hard and earned a three-set comeback win in the first round, 5-7 6-4 6-3.
This result marks a positive step forward for the Brazilian. After winning his maiden ATP title in Buenos Aires earlier this year, he suffered a first-round exit in his next tournament in Rio de Janeiro despite the home advantage. Now, just two days after capturing the biggest title of his career in Basel, Fonseca showed maturity and composure by turning up in Paris and clearing the opening hurdle successfully.
Having made history last week by becoming the first Brazilian to win an ATP 500 title and the first from his country to lift a trophy above the ATP 250 level since Gustavo Kuerten in Cincinnati 2001, Fonseca now sets his sights on a maiden Round of 16 appearance at the Masters level. On two previous occasions fighting for an R16 berth, he fell just short, losing to Terence Atmane in Cincinnati two months ago and to Alex de Minaur in three sets in Miami earlier this season.
Arriving at the Paris Masters on a five-match losing streak and under pressure to defend his semifinal points, Karen Khachanov found himself in a difficult position. However, he responded well, raising his level and dominating Ethan Quinn in the first round. Despite that positive start, he still has a long way to go to replicate last year’s success, as he has not won back-to-back matches since the Cincinnati Masters in August and has struggled with both confidence and fitness in recent weeks.
One big positive for the Russian, however, is his strong track record at the Paris Masters, where he won his only Masters 1000 title back in 2018 with a sensational run that included consecutive wins over Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, and Novak Djokovic. He has also maintained solid consistency at this venue in recent years, reaching at least the quarterfinals in both 2023 and 2024.
Head-to-head: 0-0. The biggest area of improvement needed for Joao Fonseca at this stage of his career is his physical endurance, which is currently under serious test after a long campaign in Basel last week and back-to-back matches in Paris, including a tough three-setter on Tuesday. Despite the odds being stacked against him due to fatigue, Karen Khachanov’s recent poor form and lack of confidence should give the young Brazilian some hope heading into this matchup.
