Alejandro Tabilo ruins Joao Fonseca’s return in Buenos Aires and wins dramatic match in the second round | ATP tour | Tennis

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Tabilo ruins Fonseca’s return in Buenos Aires and wins a dramatic duel in the second round

Etcheverry, Kopriva and Navone advance at ATP 250
February 12, 2026

Alejandro Tabilo secured a thrilling victory at the IEB+ Argentina Open on Wednesday, beating defending champion Joao Fonseca 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the second round and extending the Brazilian’s challenging start into the 2026 season.

Despite dropping a break lead at 3-1 in the third set, Tabilo ultimately took advantage of Fonseca’s 33 unforced errors to seal victory on his third match point in a two-hour, 24-minute battle.

“I was very connected to the team. They helped me through it,” Tabilo said. “There were a lot of nerves at the end, but I feel like we played a really good game, had some really smart tactics and just outlasted him. I knew he was going to come out swinging and I just had to be really solid.”

Tabilo won 77 percent (40/52) of his first serve points and saved 57 percent (4/7) of the break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. With the win at No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings Fonseca, Tabilo secured his first Top 50 win on clay since upsetting No. 5 Novak Djokovic in the second round of the ATP 1000 event Monte-Carlo last April. He will face seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-finals.

Fonseca, who withdrew from Brisbane and Adelaide due to a lower back injury and lost in the opening round at the Australian Open, could not resist the Chilean’s ball attack. A year ago he won his first title at tour level in Buenos Aires. The 19-year-old former Next Gen ATP Finals champion will be hoping to regain his form when he competes at the ATP 500 in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro next week.

Etcheverry booked his place in the quarterfinals by beating compatriot Roman Andres Burruchaga 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. The Argentinian saved a set point in the opening set. With the victory, the 26-year-old recorded his 50th victory on clay at tour level.

In other action, Vit Kopriva stopped eighth seed Matteo Berrettini’s run in the second round by beating the Italian 6-4, 6-3. Berrettini was competing in his first tournament of the season after withdrawing from the Australian Open due to an abdominal injury. By beating Berrettini, Kopriva became the first Czech quarter-finalist in the history of the tournament and will face top seed Francisco Cerundolo or Hugo Dellien in the last eight.

Mariano Navone defeated Emilio Nava 6-2, 6-1 to book his place in the second round.