The partnership between Brazilian tennis player João Fonseca and German Daniel Altmaier guaranteed a place in the doubles semi-final of the ATP 500 in Halle, held in Germany. This Thursday (18), the pair overcame opponents Sadio Doumbia, from France, and Marc Polmans, from Australia, in two sets, with partials of 6/4 and 7/6, with a decisive tie-break of 8/6.
In search of a place in the final of the tournament, Fonseca and Altmaier will face the pair made up of Italian Flavio Cobolli and North American Ben Shelton. Interestingly, Cobolli and Shelton were responsible for eliminating the partnership between experienced Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo and German Alexander Zverev in the previous phase, adding extra spice to the confrontation.
João Fonseca’s participation in the Halle ATP is already notable, as he entered the doubles main draw as a “lucky loser”, a condition granted to athletes who lose in the last round of qualifying but are called to fill vacancies due to withdrawals.
Fonseca had been defeated in the qualifying final last Sunday (14), but his entry was made possible after the withdrawal of Australian Nick Kyrgios.
Individually, Fonseca had a brief performance in the singles tournament, being eliminated on his debut. He was surpassed by German tennis player Yannick Hanfmann, who won by two sets to zero, with identical splits of 6/2, in a match played last Tuesday (16).