Andrey Rublev crashed out of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The world No. 9 surprisingly lost to Brazilian qualifier Joao Fonseca in straight sets - 6-7 (1), 3-6, 6-7 (5), in about two hours and 25 minutes.
Fonseca, ranked 112th in the men's rankings, won the Next Gen title late last year and has clearly demonstrated why he is expected to have a great future in tennis. The South American took the lead after a tiebreak and then needed a single break to take a two-set lead. In the third, he showed character and fought back from a break down before downing his opponent in another tiebreak.
Fonseca played an excellent match, finishing with 14 aces and only 1 double fault. He won 79% of the first serve points and saved 5/6 break points against his Russian opponent. The Brazilian hit 51 winners and made 32 unforced errors, while Rublev's balance was also positive - 33-25. The Russian is the second top 10 tennis player to leave the Australian Open at the start after Grigor Dimitrov. Bulgaria's best player was forced to retire in his match with the "lucky loser" of the qualifiers Francesco Passaro from Italy.
Fonseca will face next Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who ended the participation of Swiss veteran and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka after a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 victory. | BGNES
