João Fonseca returned to the court this Monday, in the doubles bracket of the ATP 500 in Basel, Switzerland, and returned with defeat. He and Gaucho Rafael Matos took the lead and had a match point in the second set, but lost to the experienced French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, guests of the tournament, by 6/7(2), 7/6(6) and 11/9.
The game was full of drama, with the French saving ten break points – and four set points – in the first set. Despite the missed chances, Matos and Fonseca were better in the tie-break and closed the partial 7/6(2).
In the second set, the Brazilians broke first and had the chance to close out the game when Matos served at 6/5. However, when they had a match point in a decisive point, Matos and Fonseca saw Mahut make a great return that forced an error from João – which broke the gaucho's serve. With the score at 6/6, another tie-break was necessary. This time, the French took the lead and opened 6/2, with four set points, but the Brazilians recovered and, with a great return from Fonseca, equalized the score at 6/6. Two points later, however, a precise volley from Mahut defined the tiebreaker game and the partial: 7/6(6).
