Intimate fans of the sport would have been well and truly aware of the talent that João
Fonseca possessed before he set foot onto Margaret Court Arena to face Andrey Rublev in
the opening round of the Australian Open, but that is no longer the case.
Recently, Fonseca clinched his maiden ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires, becoming the youngest South American man to win a tour-level title since Perez-Roldan in 1987.
The teenage phenom also wrote his name into the history books by becoming the first player to win an ATP title born in 2006 or later.
What made the win extra sweet given his Brazilian upbringing was defeating an Argentinian, Francisco Cerúndolo, in front of a packed Argentinian crowd.
World No.2 Alexander Zverev mentioned last week that "it is very difficult to play here [Buenos Aires] if you're not Argentine" after being heckled by a passionate local crowd.
Well, Fonseca certainly didn't grasp the memo.
Make no mistake about it - this kid is special. But the signs were already there.
Rio de Janeiro in 2024 saw the 18-year-old burst onto the scene with his ferocious forehand
and youthful exuberance that matches that of Carlos Alcaraz.
In just his second tour-level event, he dispatched battle-hardened players such as Arthur Fils
and Cristian Garín with little qualms before going down in a tight battle to Mariano Navone.
Despite the loss, Fonseca had announced himself to the tennis faithful in a cauldron that
only the mentally toughest can survive in the South American clay court swing.
Fast forward to July, and he takes his maiden Challenger title in Lexington before qualifying
for the ATP NextGen Finals in Riyadh in December.
He goes undefeated.
In that run, he conquers Fils once more, in-form Czech Jakub Menšík and Learner Tien on
two occasions, which has turned out to be a hefty scalp following the latter’s scintillating
run at Melbourne Park last month.
Fonseca then heads to Canberra and salutes with the trophy in the Australian capital before
emerging through qualifying at the year’s first major, then dismantling Rublev and pushing
eventual quarter-finalist Lorenzo Sonego to five sets.
As the Rio native heads back towards his home city, fans greet him with welcoming arms
reminiscent of Christ the Redeemer as they get ready to witness the budding superstar that
seems to be emerging before our eyes.
Not since Gustavo Kuerten has men’s tennis had a Brazilian hero, well, not on the singles
court anyway.
Thomaz Bellucci peaked at No.21 in the ATP rankings and won four titles, but the raw talent of
Fonseca looks like it will supersede that landmark.
Kuerten was a former World No.1 and a three-time Grand Slam champion, but in Brazil, he
was much more than that. He was a hero.
Like all of the colossal athletes who hail from South America’s largest nation, Kuerten was
looked upon like a hero.
You only have to examine the adoration of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pelé, Kaka and Neymar in
football or one of Formula One’s greatest drivers in Ayrton Senna to see that Brazilians
treasure their sporting stars.
Following on from Senna were Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa, who are still loved in
South America.
A Brazilian excelling in sport brings atmosphere; it was evident in Davis Cup, and it was
evident in Rio last year when Fonseca began his journey. Their citizens follow their own worldwide with the well-known green, yellow and blue flags hoisted aloft in joy when their compatriot produces the remarkable.
The nation’s largest city will play as the setting for what could possibly stamp Fonseca’s
name on the map in permanent marker, and it would be a glorious thing for tennis.
Kuerten was a clay court specialist in his prime, with only six titles on a hard court throughout his career. Fonseca is already excelling on multiple surfaces and causing damage for those in his way.
So far, the trajectory of the boy who grew up 10 minutes away from the site of next week’s
ATP 500 event seems to be astronomical, but the expectation seems warranted and he seems to thrive on it.
If he does achieve success, it could bring Carnivale to tennis and it could just be the most
exciting thing to happen to the sport in years.
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