Fonseca: "I hope that grass will be my favorite surface one day"

Pedro de Pablos | 3 Jul 2026 | 15.52

Fonseca: "I hope grass will be my favorite surface someday". Source: Getty Images.

Streaming W100 Cary live tennis

🎾 Ena Koike vs Tatum Evans

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

Joao Fonseca has suffered a tough defeat in the third round of Wimbledon 2026 against Roman Safiullin, who didn't give him a chance and beat him in three comfortable sets. In the press conference, the young Brazilian tennis player expressed satisfaction with his performance in the tournament, credited his opponent, and issued a warning for the future.

It is only Fonseca's second complete grass season, and since it is relatively short, he still lacks experience to become a specialist on this surface. However, he believes he can achieve that in a few years and stated, "I think I have the skills to perform well on grass. And I hope that someday it will be my favorite surface, even though I still have a lot to improve, without a doubt." As always, very mature in defeat, Joao is already thinking about the upcoming hard court swing starting in a few weeks.

Fonseca analyzes the keys to his defeat at Wimbledon

It was a tough match from the start. He put a lot of pressure on me. He's a player who likes to control the point. He did quite well at the beginning of the points, especially when returning serves. So, yes, I don't think I played poorly. Of course, I had some opportunities during the match to make him think more and play more points, but I tried to give my best. Nonetheless, it was another great performance here, I'm improving on grass, which motivates me to keep going, so now it's time to rest and go all out.

Evolution on grass

The grass season is very short. In fact, when I spend more time on grass, you can see that last year as well, at first, I didn't play well, and then I started playing better in the last few weeks. This year, the same, but because I think the initial weeks on grass are faster than here at Wimbledon. Here it's much slower, allowing for longer rallies. But yes, I definitely need to improve at the beginning on grass, get better in fast conditions. I believe I improve more each year, but I still have a lot to work on, without a doubt.

Struggles to convert break points

I think he did quite well on the break points. He closed the door on me and prevented me from focusing more on the match.
On break points, he played well, served a lot to the body, and I couldn't do much with the ball today. I didn't put him on the defensive. I wasn't very aggressive. He played very aggressively, seeking winners, coming to the net. He showed bravery in crucial points. In most crucial points, he moved forward, went for the ball, and I couldn't capitalize on the opportunities.
So, well, yes, of course, sometimes it was my fault, but that happens. Even on grass, which is faster, serves are hard to return. I don't think it was all my fault either.

Why does Safiullin elevate his game on grass?

Today, the rhythm he played with was really intense. His return is even closer to the baseline. Sometimes it's even inside the baseline, so the ball arrives faster. Sometimes it's tough because he has excellent timing. He generates a lot of power effortlessly. Sometimes it seems like he plays smoothly, but the ball still has a lot of speed. I don't think my shots were affecting him much. It was him directing the points.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fonseca: "Espero que la hierba sea mi superficie favorita algún día"

ATP