Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Fonseca Recovers to Beat Ruud, Sets Shelton Showdown in Montreal
Joao Fonseca is a 19-year-old tennis player from Brazil.
He played a match at a big tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada.
His opponent was Casper Ruud, a very good player from Norway.
Fonseca started the match slowly and made some mistakes.
But he did not give up and worked hard to get back into the match.
He won the first set in a tie-break, which is a special way to decide a close set.
Then he played much better in the second set and won it easily.
Fonseca won the match and will play another young player named Ben Shelton next.
This is the first time in years that two teenagers have reached this stage of the tournament.
Joao Fonseca of Brazil defeated Casper Ruud 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the last 16 of the Canadian Open in Montreal.
Fonseca and fellow 19-year-old Rafael Jodar are the first two teenagers in the event's fourth round since Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018.
Fonseca will next face fifth seed and defending champion Ben Shelton, a rematch of their Munich quarterfinal won by Shelton.
After falling behind early, Fonseca broke back immediately and clinched the first-set tie-break from 3/5 down with a clutch inside-out forehand winner.
Fonseca improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with Ruud, the former No. 2 player in the ATP Rankings.
- Who
- Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, who beat Casper Ruud; Ben Shelton, Rafael Jodar and others also advanced to the fourth round.
- What
- Fonseca recovered from a slow start to win 7-6(6), 6-3 and reach the last 16 of the Canadian Open.
- When
- This week, during the ongoing Canadian Open in Montreal (exact date not specified).
- Where
- Montreal, Canada.
- Why
- Fonseca changed tactics, hitting aggressive second serves as first serves, and asserted his baseline game to overcome the early deficit.
- Event
- Canadian Open (ATP Masters 1000)
- Location
- Montreal, Canada
- Winner
- Joao Fonseca (Brazil)
- Score
- 7-6(6), 6-3
- Opponent
- Casper Ruud (Norway), former No. 2 in the ATP Rankings
- Next opponent
- Ben Shelton, fifth seed and defending champion
- Head-to-head vs Ruud
- 2-0, including a win at Roland Garros two months ago
- Notable stat
- First two teenagers in the last 16 since Shapovalov and Tsitsipas in 2018