Joao Fonseca handily wins showcase of forehands with Berrettini to reach first Masters 1000 QF in Monte Carlo

A day after Matteo Berrettini sunk Daniil Medvedev in a 6-0, 6-0 blowout, the Italian was on the receiving end of a one-sided loss at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

His opponent? Joao Fonseca.

The 19-year-old powered his way to a maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal Thursday, topping the radar gun with a 105 m.p.h. forehand. Fonseca broke Berrettini four times in their 74-minute encounter, soaring to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

“It was a pretty good match (from) the beginning, playing really aggressive, putting a lot of pressure on the return games and doing pretty well on the service games, as well,” he assessed in press.

“Berrettini has a huge forehand. When I played him for the first time, it was difficult for me. We were playing, well, indoors, and it was Davis Cup, and he was hitting forehand like crazy.”

After a low back issue hampered his first two months of the season, the Brazilian has turned a corner. Fonseca has picked up seven 1000-level wins since Indian Wells, which matches his 2025 total across seven events..

“Preseason came, and unfortunately I got an injury. I was trying to get back with rhythm and physique,” he said.

“Then after I came back from Australia, I had some weeks to prepare. We have been working a lot on my movement on clay and hard, and soon enough on grass.”

During the Sunshine Double, Fonseca had the opportunity to see how his game matched up against Jannik Sinner (Indian Wells) and Carlos Alcaraz (Miami). Come Friday, the world No. 40 is set to find out how he stacks up against the man rounding out the Top 3, Alexander Zverev.

The German dismissed Zizou Bergs, 6-2, 7-5. Zverev is looking to clinch his place in a fourth consecutive Masters 1000 semifinal.