João Fonseca Beats Luka Pavlovic in Straight Sets at Roland Garros

Overview

• Fonseca, the tournament's 28th seed, defeated France's Luka Pavlovic in straight sets, 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-2, in a match that lasted just over two hours on the Simonne Mathieu court.
• The match hinged on a close first-set tie-break in which Fonseca saved a set point and used a powerful forehand to finish the breaker 8-6.
• After the tie-break Fonseca progressively controlled play, converting break chances and closing out the second and third sets as Pavlovic, ranked about No. 240, dropped intensity and made key errors.
• Fonseca said he felt nervous at the start but stayed focused, thanked the crowd for its support, and acknowledged the local applause that followed his win.
• He will meet Croatian Dino Prižmić in the second round on Wednesday, with Prižmić having beaten Michael Zheng in straight sets and the exact time for their match still to be set.