Top talent Joao Fonseca wins his first ATP tournament at the age of 18 – and has a great future ahead of him.
Joao Fonseca once again had Boris Becker raving. “Look at this young man from Brazil!!! The sky is the limit,” the German tennis icon wrote on Twitter after the exceptional talent became the seventh youngest tournament winner on the ATP Tour in Buenos Aires.
It is the latest highlight in Fonseca’s meteoric rise, which saw him storm to 68th place in the world rankings with his triumph. The 18-year-old has huge potential and ambitions. “I want to be number one. Of course I want to win Grand Slams and titles,” said the Brazilian after his 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) victory in the final against Zverev’s conqueror Francisco Cerundolo: “But my real dream is just to play tennis.”
And the teenager is already doing that splendidly. Only six players in the history of the tour were younger than Fonseca when they won their first tournament, triumphing in the Argentine capital at 18 years, five months and 26 days.
His rise began in December with victory at the Next Gen ATP Finals, a tournament for the best U21 players. Fonseca followed in the footsteps of top stars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who were also able to win the tournament at the age of 18. For many fans and experts, one thing is already clear: Fonseca will challenge the industry leaders from Italy and Spain for years at the top of the world.
Fonseca caused a stir at the Australian Open
Fonseca had already caused a stir at the Australian Open in January with his first-round victory against top ten player Andrej Rublev, with Becker coming out as an “admirer of his art” and emphasizing: “A star is born.” Alcaraz was also deeply impressed in Melbourne: “Simply incredible! We will soon be adding the name Joao Fonseca to the list of the best players in the world.”
