18 year old sensation Joao Fonseca wins the Buenos Aires Open and stakes his claim to being the next big thing in Men's tennis.
After stunning the tennis world with a sensational victory over Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open, Joao Fonseca seemed to have introduced himself as a star for the future. When he, however, lost to eventual quarter-finalist Lorenzo Sonego, some question marks were raised. But just a few weeks later, the young man has picked up his first title on the ATP tour to reiterate that the hype is very much real.
Fonseca overcame seasoned pro and hometown favourite Francisco Cerundolo in front of a boisterous crowd in Buenos Aires, triumphing 6-4, 7-6.
At only 18 years of age, winning the title made Fonseca the youngest ever Brazilian winner of an ATP event and the 10th youngest man to win a title on the ATP tour.
It has been a pretty rapid rise for Fonseca, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals (for players under 21) at the backend of 2024 and kicked off his Grand Slam campaign by defeating the 9th seed Andrey Rublev. Now with a title already under his belt, could he be someone to challenge the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner?
Fonseca's performance against Cerundolo was one filled with highlight reels, with winners seemingly coming from all angles and if you haven't seen the highlights yet, I greatly encourage it.
One of the astonishing things about Fonseca is his already monumental power. Despite being only 18, Fonseca seems to have some of the most powerful ground strokes on tour. In his victory over Rublev in Melbourne, Fonseca hit the fastest forehand winner of the tournament at 181 km/h (112 mph).
But it isn't just the power, Fonseca plays with precision and temperament that will only get better as he gets older.
Tennis undoubtedly has another superstar on their hands, with the sky being the limit for Fonseca. He now rises to 68th in the world and will take part in the Rio Open, his home tournament, which begins on the 17th of February.
Brazil has always had a history of producing exceptional sportsmen but has been missing a big name from the tennis world for quite some time and hasn’t had a Grand Slam champion since Gustavo Kuerten won his third Roland Garros in 2001.
Could Fonseca be their next tennis superstar?
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