J. FONSECA/C. Ruud
7-6, 6-3
Q. Congrats, big dude. Amazing props for you tonight. Do you have crowds like this everywhere you go?
JOAO FONSECA: Yeah. Most of the time there is a lot of Brazilians, and that's super nice.
The atmosphere today was pretty great. Even people from other countries, Canadians, Americans was super nice. And really liked the atmosphere on court tonight.
Q. Speaking to some of them, Brazilians, Kuerten, Sinner, all the big names, and some of them see you reach that status. How do you balance that and keeping in mind your own progression in the step-by-step process?
JOAO FONSECA: How do I balance? I just think that I'm not one of them yet. Of course, my dream is to be. My dream is to inspire kids, people, and do half of what these guys did. So I just try to focus on my routine and what I can do to improve each day as an athlete and as a person, and I think that's it.
I think, also, I had a good base. My parents taught me well to keep my feet on the ground. That's also a good thing I need to think of.
Q. You've beat Tsitsipas now, Ruud, two players that have a big career. Where is your confidence level and comfort level on these courts now?
JOAO FONSECA: Yeah. Pretty good. Back playing good. I think more -- how can I say? More solid, I'll say, on court, mentally and physically.
So, yeah, I felt good in these two huge wins in terms of experienced guys.
So, yeah, for sure, I'm happy, happy the way I fought in these two matches and excited for my next match.
Q. You're playing Shelton. You've faced each other once, but on clay. What do you expect from this matchup against another top seed?
JOAO FONSECA: Tough one, for sure. Ben is a huge player. He likes the surface. He likes -- here the ball is bouncing high. So his serve is going to be harder than it normally is.
But, yeah, I think this year I learned so much and had some more experience. And, yeah, I'm pretty confident in the match. I'm feeling good on court. So just let it roll and let's try to rest more and be ready for it Sunday.
Q. Can you talk about the problem solving that you did on court? Can you talk a little bit more about what wasn't working with the serve and how you worked through that mentally?
JOAO FONSECA: Yes. I mean, I was not serving well today. At the beginning I was struggling with the first serve. And I'm trying to solve those problems that you have on court and when, it really means a lot.
So, I mean, I was just hitting second serves as a first serve just to put it in the court. And I was serving confident, and I was not hitting first serves like full power. I was just, like, trying to make him miss some returns and tried to play the point.
And, yeah, I'm happy the way that I stayed mentally with it. Of course, serving is pretty important, even on hard court. So, yeah, very happy the way that I solved the problems.
Q. It wasn't clear the other day, but when you were talking about Novak, you were joking, right? I wasn't here, so I didn't hear it.
JOAO FONSECA: I was joking. I mean, we know Novak is getting older, but of course, I would do the same as him if I knew. I mean, I think he was joking as well talking about that.
Yeah, of course, I mean, playing four fricking sets, I like it a lot, because I played good in Next Gen. So, yeah, of course, I was joking.
Q. You seemed to have built quite a nice relationship with Duncan Chan as your hitting partner. Can you explain how that relationship came to be and what do you like about him?
JOAO FONSECA: My hitting partner. He's a huge friend. He's playing the tournament as well. He did pretty great.
I know him and his mom a lot. We played juniors together. Huge friend. He's playing still college, but he's making the transition.
Yeah, nice guy, nice dude and wish him all the best, for sure. And I think he plays doubles tomorrow, so wish him good luck.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports