An uneven patch of court was all it took to enrage Stefanos Tsitsipas in an already heated clash between him and Joao Fonseca in Montreal. With the second-round match at a melting point after an intense first-set tie-breaker and one game apiece in the second set, Tsitsipas walked over to the chair umpire to a specific section of the court to make his case in person by halting play.

“Do you see the bounce? This is like a court from a public court. It has like, a bounce, like this. Do you see it? It’s not a singles court. It’s a Masters 1000. What are we doing?” Tsitsipas said, gesturing at the surface, alleging that an uneven surface affected the bounce of the ball.

He went further, insisting the issue had directly cost him a point during the match. “I would never miss this,” he said, pointing to the specific spot he believed had thrown off his shot. 

The umpire pushed back on the claim after inspecting the area himself. “Do you see anything on court now?” he asked. Tsitsipas remained adamant. “It’s uneven,” he replied, prompting the umpire to explain the court’s construction rather than dispute the complaint outright. “There is no bubble. There is no proper bubble,” he said.

The disruption eventually led to a 7-6(3), 7-5 defeat for the Greek in one hour and 50 minutes. The Brazilian dominated the tiebreak, but the first set was tight and the second set was as well. There were moments when Fonseca dropped his serve after being up 40-15, but he eventually closed it out by winning eight of the final nine points after faltering while serving out the match at 5-4. 

The 19-year-old Brazilian went ahead in their head-to-head record, leading 2-0. Their first tie took place in Greece last September at the Davis Cup in three sets. After the win, Fonseca reflected on his composure since the last meeting. “I think the Joao of last year would lose his mind. I’m a more mature Joao now. It’s been a couple of weeks without playing, so I knew, serving for the match, I would be a little bit more tense. I felt good, played some good returns, and then put the pressure on him. I think I needed that break at 5-5,” he said. 

The win made Fonseca the first Brazilian to reach the third round of the Canadian Open since Gustavo Kuerten. Next, he is up against ninth seed Casper Ruud in the round of 32, a rematch of the French Open, which went in favor of the Brazilian.

Tsitsipas’ push for the US Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas had reached Montreal with renewed confidence after winning his first title in 17 months at Gstaad.  The way he won the title was also memorable, grinding through the draw with multiple three-setters and eventually defeating Belgium’s Raphael Collignon in a three-set final to claim his 13th ATP Tour title and first since Dubai 2025. He could not follow that form into the Citi Open, losing to top seed Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-3, 3-6. In Montreal, he went through the qualification and the first-round match in straight sets and then hit a roadblock against a young world No. 27.

The turnaround has coincided with a major reshuffle of his team. The former world No. 3 confirmed a permanent split from his father and long-time coach Apostolos shortly before Wimbledon. He appointed Thomas Perrin, a coach from Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy, to manage his daily setup, while Mouratoglou himself provided supervision from the outside. The change followed a jump of 33 places in the rankings, from world No. 88, which was his lowest-ranked position in eight years, to now standing at world No. 53. 

Tsitsipas now has his sights on the next Masters 1000 event, the Cincinnati Open running from August 11 to 24 in Ohio, as he continues building towards the US Open later this month.