The Joao Factor is over at the Australian Open, but Fonseca comes away with only positives

“He’s human,” a TV commentator said when Joao Fonseca plunked an easy overhead into the bottom of the net on Thursday.

Does that fact seem a little too obvious to bother mentioning? In fairness to the announcer, it had been easy to forget over the past few days that the 18-year-old Brazilian was like the rest of us. He had won 14 straight matches (the first five at the Next Gen ATP Finals). He had beaten a Top 10 opponent, Andrey Rublev, in straight sets. He had belted his ground strokes as well and as hard as any of his more famous elders. And when it came to closing out his first-round match in a tiebreaker, he didn’t flinch. In fact, he did the opposite. He swung hard, hit bigger, and didn’t miss.

Afterward, on-court interviewer Andrea Petkovic spoke for everyone when she asked Fonseca, “How did you do that?” It felt like we were watching someone who might rewrite the rules of what’s possible on a tennis court. “Wow” puns proliferated. Coco Gauff said she knew along that the kid was special.

“I've been on the Fonseca train since early,” she said. “I wasn't surprised by the result.”

Call it the Joao Factor. Fonseca only fed that frenzy in his press conference.

“When I arrived here, my first goal was to qualify for the main draw,” he said. “Of course, my expectations are bigger now. I want more and more.”

Given all of that, tennis fans waking up to the results from Down Under on Thursday may have been shocked to learn that the Fonseca train had derailed so soon. They may have forgotten that he was playing a higher-ranked veteran opponent in Lorenzo Sonego, or not realized that Fonseca had never played five sets before. They may not have believed that he could get tight, miss clutch shots, or lose his forehand. But all of those things happened in his 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 loss to the Italian.

Still, Fonseca didn’t fall to earth right away. 1573 Arena was packed, and peppered with Brazilian blue and gold, and he revved his new fans up at every opportunity. The country hasn’t had a male tennis star since Gustavo Kuerten, and they sounded ready.

For the first hour, Fonseca didn’t disappoint. He saved two set points, and again raised his game in to win a first-set tiebreaker. But that would be his peak this time. While he looked comfortable in this setting, Fonseca admitted later that he was tight.

“I’m not gonna lie, I was a little bit nervous,” he said. “Actually a lot nervous in the second and third set. First, second, and third set, I was a lot nervous.”

He could feel the burden of new expectations, both from others and himself.

“I think after the battle against Rublev, the expectations got bigger,” Fonseca said. “People said a little bit more about Joao. Yeah, my expectations were bigger also.”

Fonseca’s game eventually wilted under that pressure, and under the physical and mental toll of five sets. Errors flew.

On the plus side, Fonseca had the wherewithal to rein himself in and rally to win the fourth set. In the the decider, he reached break point at 3-3, but couldn’t control a backhand return.

In the next game, Foseca’s inexperience showed when he twice approached crosscourt to Sonego’s forehand, and Sonego twice made him pay with a crosscourt pass winner. At break point, Fonseca finally sealed his fate by trying to hit a forehand much harder than it needed to be hit, and drilling it straight into the net.

“I think [Sonego’s] experience was the big difference of today,” Fonseca said. “I think when you play five sets, the experience, it’s different.”

“I need to work more to stay mentally focused during the whole match and need to be prepared for this.”

I think after the battle against Rublev, the expectations got bigger. People said a little bit more about Joao. Joao Fonseca

So Fonseca is human, after all. But that doesn’t mean he’s a run-of-the-mill tennis player, either. He plays an exciting, athletic, aggressive brand of tennis, but he’s not just a ball-basher. He has already mastered the body serve, he can hit his kick second serve to specific targets, and despite that plunked overhead against Sonego, he has a confident smash.

Fonseca learned something about five-setters at this event. Maybe he learned something about setting expectations, too. He says his ultimate aim is to be No. 1, but for now his wishes are more reasonable, and should keep him from getting ahead of himself.

“It’s my dream to play the tour, like the real tour where the Top 50 players play,” he said. “The Masters, the ATP 500s, the 250s. I want to live playing this.”

“I’m excited to join the Top 100, play the big tournaments, get my place in this environment, and keep working to go bigger.”

The rise of Fonseca comes with a bonus: The return of Brazil, potentially, to the top of the men’s game. The country has produced a couple of the sport’s most beloved players, Maria Bueno and Kuerten, and its fans add color and enthusiasm to any event.

“It's such a nice thing about the Brazilians,” Fonseca said. “When we see some Brazilians doing well in the sports, we like to cheer.”

The Joao Factor may be gone in Australia, but it should be a part of the sport for a long time to come.