Brazil’s Joao Fonseca moved into the third round of the Madrid Masters 1000 on Friday without playing a point, after Croatia’s Marin Cilic withdrew from their second-round match because of food poisoning.
The result sends the 19-year-old Brazilian deeper into one of the biggest clay-court tournaments of the season and keeps alive another strong run for one of Latin America’s most closely watched young players. Fonseca had been set to make his Madrid Masters 1000 debut against Cilic, a veteran opponent with major experience, but the match was called off before the players took the court.
Cilic said on social media that he had suffered food poisoning on Thursday and was unable to recover in time. He had reached the second round after beating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match.
The withdrawal gives Fonseca a place in the third round, where he will face Spain’s Rafael Jódar. Jódar, also 19, produced one of the results of the day in Madrid by beating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-1 for his first career win over a Top 10 player.
That matchup gives Madrid a fresh generational storyline: Fonseca, carrying Brazil’s hopes on the European clay, against a Spanish wild card rising quickly in front of a home crowd. Both players are among the youngest names pushing into the upper levels of the ATP Tour, and both now have a chance to turn Madrid into a bigger breakthrough.
For Fonseca, the manner of the win was unusual, but the opportunity is clear. He already reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal earlier this year in Monte Carlo, and his Madrid run adds to a season that has made him one of the main faces of South American tennis.
Brazil has been waiting for a men’s player to consistently threaten at the sport’s biggest events, and Fonseca’s rise has brought new attention from fans across the region. His next match will offer a clearer test: a young Spaniard full of confidence, a Madrid crowd behind him, and a place in the last 16 on the line.
Cilic, meanwhile, leaves Madrid after a frustrating end to what had been a promising start. The Croatian had battled back from a set down against Bergs, but his tournament ended before he could test Fonseca in what had been billed as an intriguing clash between experience and youth.
