OK, just watched highlights. My thoughts:
- Novak looked pretty good. He seemed a touch listless - not quite the limitless energy and Gumby-esque acrobatics of his prime, but he was making some incredible shots and seemed to be playing well overall. This was also good to see Fonzie beat him fair and square.
- Novak remains the all-time class act in losing...I would have loved to hear what he said to Fonseca - but I can only imagine the words of appreciation and encouragement.
- Fonseca's touch is underrated...even though in the highlights he looked out-matched at the net, he was making some lovely dropshots and just a dynamic game. He's got the whole package.
- Fonseca's backhand is underrated. His forehand are Del Potro-ian bullets, but he seems to have an accurate, strong two-hander.
- The best part: the little boy smile when he won. Priceless.
Anyhow, Fonzie showed what he's capable of. This is a future multi-Slam winner and quite possibly an all-time great. Watching the highlights at least, you could see a diverse game coming together at a higher octave. I'm sure he'll have his bad matches, but I think we're going to see a top ten player from here on out, for the most part, as he keeps climbing.