Joao Fonseca has already advanced further at the Rio Open than he did last year, when he was coming off a title in Buenos Aires and lost right away to Alexandre Muller. Well rested this time around following an immediate exit from the Buenos Aires ATP 250, Fonseca took care of Thiago Monteiro 7-6(1), 6-1 on Tuesday.
Up next for the 19-year-old on Thursday is a second-round showdown against Buse, whom he has never faced.
Buse is a 21-year-old who has broken into the top 100 (currently 91st). He was a semifinal machine at the Challenger level last season, but success on the main tour has been fleeting. Five of Buse’s 10 lifetime match victories have come in lower-level Davis Cup competition. Outside of a semifinal run this past summer in Gstaad (where he did not beat anyone ranked better than 60th), the Peruvian has rarely been noticed at the ATP level.
This is a big step up in competition for Buse, who needed two hours and 40 minutes to get past world No. 348 Igor Marcondes 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the Rio de Janeiro first round. Now the underdog has to deal with a superior opponent and also a raucous Brazilian crowd that will be eager to erupt for Fonseca after he had to face a fellow Brazilian on Tuesday.
Pick: Fonseca in 2