NBO Montreal Tale of the Tape: Fonseca vs. Shelton

Brazilian teen Joao Fonseca takes on defending champion Ben Shelton, so expect plenty of huge hitting and fist pumps in Montreal. 

Time for a closer look at the matchup, which precedes Jakub Mensik’s clash with Botic van de Zandschulp. 

Head-to-head 

In their lone meeting in the Munich quarterfinals on clay in April, Shelton beat Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. He won 70 percent of his first serve points and 65 percent of his second-serve points. The American faced only one break point in the whole match. 

The German tournament has been a good spot for Shelton. He went on to win the title this year after making the final in 2025. 

After his third-round win against Casper Ruud, Fonseca said the conditions in Montreal also suit Shelton. 

“Here the ball is bouncing high, so his serve is going to be harder than it normally is,” said Fonseca. 

Note that Fonseca’s record against lefties at tour level is 8-9. 

Tournament so far 

Both players haven’t dropped a set in two matches. 

You have to go back to April — in Munich — for the last time Shelton won back-to-back outings in straight sets. 

READ: Montreal Match “Shark Bites”: Previewing Sunday’s Remaining Fourth Round Matches

Fonseca beat Grand Slam finalists Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud for his first-ever NBO victories. They followed a similar pattern — slow first sets, before Fonseca picked it up in the second. 

He said he struggled with his serve against Ruud, in the first set in particular. 

Maybe best known for his forehand, Fonseca also crunched 13 backhand winners against Ruud, often capitalizing when the Norwegian gave him space down the line. 

Tournament history 

Fonseca lost to a player who served well last year in Toronto, Australian Tristan Schoolkate, in his NBO debut. 

If he downs Shelton, Fonseca would reach a second Masters 1000 quarterfinal after Monte Carlo in April. 

When Shelton won the title in Toronto last year, he was taken to three third-set tiebreaks. In his other two matches, he beat Top 10 players, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur. 

Another victory for Shelton at the NBO and he would reach a seventh Masters quarterfinal. Recent history suggests the American will be hard to stop — he’s won his last four fourth round matches at the Masters level. 

What they’re saying 

Fonseca said he was, overall, happy with his performances against Ruud and Tsitsipas. 

“Back playing good. I think more solid, I'll say, on court, mentally and physically,” Fonseca told reporters. “So, yeah, I felt good in these two huge wins in terms of experienced guys. I’m happy the way I fought in these two matches.” 

Before Montreal, Shelton had yet to tally back-to-back victories at Masters tournaments this year. 

“I've had a weird year at the 1000s. It's been difficult for me, but these two tournaments over the summer I always play well at,” he said, referring to the next event in Cincinnati. “I think that losing so early at the 1000s the way I did early in the year was more flukey.” 

“And I think that the way these tournaments are set up, especially the hard court events, there's no reason that I shouldn't be able to make some runs at these tournaments.”

“It's something that I struggled with a lot early in my career, adjusting to having the day off. But I do feel really comfortable at these tournaments now.”

Photos: Tennis Canada