Nicolas Oliveira, 16, played his first Grand Slam as a junior
Photo: Luiz Candido/CBT
Melbourne, Australia) – The Brazilians who were on the court in this Sunday’s round for the Australian Open youth tournament had opposite directions in the competition. João Fonseca, who came from a good debut in singles, also advanced in doubles. Nicolas Oliveira, who was playing his first Grand Slam, was beaten in the first round.
Oliveira, 16 and 204th in the standings, challenged Czech Maxim Mrva, who is only 15 but is already 20th in the standings and ninth seed in Melbourne. The carioca managed to win the first set, but suffered an upset against one of the tournament favorites. Mrva scored the partials of 3/6, 6/1 and 6/1 at 1h17 from the start. The Czech now faces the Russian from the quali Ruslan Tiukaev.
With the result, Fonseca becomes the only Brazilian in the youth team in Melbourne. He made his debut this Sunday in doubles alongside Belgian Alexander Blockx. Seeded, they beat North American brothers Kaylan and Meecah Bigun by 6/3 and 6/0 and now face Canadian Keegan Rice and South Korean Hoyoung Roh.
In singles, Fonseca will face the Czech Vit Kalina, 62nd in the ranking, from 9 p.m. (Brasília time) this Sunday on court 17. The 16-year-old from Rio de Janeiro and number 21 in the world ranking of the leader 10 in melbourne and is participating in her fourth Grand Slam as a juvenile. The best campaign was at Roland Garros, where he reached the round of 16.
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