Joao Fonseca will "keep working to go bigger", loses five-set debut at AO to Lorenzo Sonego

Joao Fonseca got his first taste of five-set tennis on Thursday evening at the Australian Open. In the end, experience won out.

Lorenzo Sonego battled past the 18-year-old, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in three hours and 37 minutes to reach the third round.

“I think one of the best matches in my life and the Grand Slam. I played really well today, and I served really good,” assessed Sonego.

At 3-3 in the final set, Sonego erased a break point by forcing a backhand error off his opponent’s racquet. In the following game, the 29-year-old Italian dazzled with a pair of forehand passing shot winners and the pressure caught up to Fonseca when his forehand twice misfired to concede the lone break of the decider.

With all eyes on him following a show-stopping, straight-set win over No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev, Fonseca admitted he carried greater stress on the court this time around.

“I think after the battle against Rublev, the expectations got bigger. People said a little bit more about Joao. My expectations were bigger also,” he said during his post-match press conference. “I was more nervous than the match against Rublev. I already had a win against Sonego. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous.”

The end result saw Fonseca suffer his first loss of the 2025, having opened the year by winning the ATP Challenger Tour crown in Canberra prior to qualifying into his first major main draw. Before the second set against Sonego, December’s Next Gen ATP Finals champion hadn’t dropped a set in January.

For me, for myself, for my opinion, the sky's the limit. You need to work more and more to reach your dream, which is become No. 1. Joao Fonseca

Fonseca is eager to gain more experiences at the top level as he prepares for his first full season as a professional. He is projected to make his Top 100 debut as of now, though that could change with next week’s tournament results across all levels factoring into the new rankings published on January 27.

“It's my dream to play the tour, like the real tour where the Top 50 players play. The Masters, the ATP 500s, the 250s. I want to live playing this,” he said. “I'm excited to join the Top 100, play the big tournaments, get my place in this environment, and keep working to go bigger, to have more and more ranking.

“For me, for myself, for my opinion, the sky's the limit. You need to work more and more to reach your dream, which is become No. 1.”

Sonego plays for a fourth-round berth against Fabian Marozsan. The Hungarian also prevailed over five sets, rallying past 17th seed Frances Tiafoe from two sets to one down.