Andre Agassi Tells Joao Fonseca What He Needs to Change to Reduce the Pressure on Him

Joao Fonseca is not having the best start to the season as he has won just one singles match after three tournaments. However, he enjoyed some success at the Rio Open, winning the doubles competition alongside 42-year-old and former doubles World No. 1 Marcelo Melo. Andre Agassi has revealed what he has to do to change his form on tour.

Fonseca is under pressure to surpass the standards he set last season, where he won two ATP 500 tournaments and finished in the top 30. The 19-year-old showed promising signs right from his first Grand Slam of the season, beating Andrey Rublev in the first round and then winning the Argentina Open.

But this year has been difficult for the Brazilian teenager. He struggles with a back injury that has forced him to withdraw from tournaments this season, and he opens his campaign with a shocking first-round loss to Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open. There were hopes that he would bounce back immediately in Buenos Aires, but he was stunned by Alejandro Tabilo.

The defending champion failed to get past the opening round of the tournament, which was surprising. Nonetheless, at the Rio Open, he defeated Thiago Monteiro in his opening match, but then lost to Ignacio Buse in three sets. His poor string of performances in singles leaves him with a terrible 1-3 win-loss record on tour.

Also, he sits outside the Top 30, out of a seeded position in a Grand Slam tournament. If things don’t change quickly, the World No.38 may find himself outside the Top 50 by the end of March. During an interview on New Balls Please!, Agassi revealed that Fonseca needs to stop being worried about people’s expectations:

I will tell you what I would be reminding him every day, it’s that it’s not his job or his role to live up to other people’s expectations. This is not what he should choose to accept. His perspective needs to be one of focus on what he wants and how to get better every day. [The brain] is a muscle, and he needs to hear this. It’s wonderful to have this kind of support, it helps so much, but it can also be very heavy. This is something you get to choose.

Agassi coached Fonseca for just a few days during the Laver Cup. The Brazilian teenager played a role in Team World winning the title, defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4 in their singles clash. A few weeks after the tournament, Fonseca went on to claim his second ATP 500 title at the Swiss Indoor tournament.

Joao Fonseca to play an exhibition tournament before the Indian Wells Open

Joao Fonseca and Marcelo Melo claimed the Rio Open doubles title after beating Constantin Frantzen and Robin Haase 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Fonseca became the youngest doubles champion at the tournament since its introduction in 2009. He will take the title victory as a step in the right direction despite poor performances in singles competition.

However, before Fonseca travels for the Sunshine Doubles, he will participate in an exhibition tournament taking place on Sunday (March 1) in Las Vegas. He will compete alongside Lorenzo Musetti, Taylor Fritz, and Casper Ruud at the event. After that, he will then go to California for the Indian Wells Open.

Fonseca was eliminated in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells last year after losing to eventual champion Jack Draper. The 19-year-old has registered for the Phoenix Challenger, so that if he doesn’t exit the ATP 1000 event early, he will play in the Challenger.

Should things go as planned for Fonseca, he will play at the Miami Open. He featured at the tournament last year, reaching the third round before losing to Alex de Minaur. Before the defeat, he beat Learner Tien and Ugo Humbert.

Also Read: Stan Wawrinka Claims Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz Are Playing ‘Better’ Than Previous Generation

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