Tommy Paul faced a tough test in his opening match at the Madrid Open on Saturday night. Playing under the lights at Manolo Santana Stadium, the No. 11 seed stayed strong under pressure to defeat Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3). Paul saved two set points in each set to secure the win.
“I thought the level was awesome. From the jump, he really had me on my toes,” Paul told ATP Media after the match. “He was in every one of my service games in the first set. My serve bailed me out quite a bit.”
The battle between Fonseca’s powerful forehand and Paul’s steady backhand produced a thrilling first set. Both players ended with more winners than unforced errors. However, after 62 minutes, Fonseca was left with a sense of missed chances.
The 18-year-old had six break points but could not convert any. Paul didn’t face a break point until the tie-break. Fonseca later earned two set points but missed key shots, including a mistimed forehand at 6-4 that proved costly.
Paul held his nerve, erased another set point with a solid shot near the line, and took the lead by forcing a Fonseca error. He sealed the first set with 17 winners against just 10 unforced errors.
In the second set, Paul grabbed an early break after Fonseca missed an easy forehand. Paul held serve to move ahead, but Fonseca fought back, breaking Paul on his ninth chance. Fonseca even had a set point at 5-4 but failed to finish the job, hitting another forehand into the net.
Paul’s forehand made the difference in the second tie-break. He attacked Fonseca’s backhand and then used a clever forehand dropshot to take a 4-2 lead. Paul’s next shot caused Fonseca to slip and fall, and a few points later, the American closed out the match as Fonseca struggled to handle his approach shots.
This was Paul’s first match on European clay this season. He ended with a +4 winner-to-error differential, while Fonseca finished at -12.
Paul will next face No. 24 seed Karen Khachanov in the third round. Khachanov advanced after beating Reilly Opelka 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in a match where neither player lost serve.
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