Remember the name João Fonseca: you will be hearing it a lot more often in the coming years. The 18-year-old Brazilian player has just won his first ever ATP title, in the Argentina Open, before local favourite Francisco Cerúndolo. Fonseca was 99th in the ATP rankings before the Bueno Aires final, and on Monday he jumps to 68th place. 26-year-old Cerúndolo was 28th.
Fonseca has broken several records. One year ago, he was 648 in the ATP rankings. Now, at 18 years and 5 months old, he has won the first final he has reached, becoming the 10th youngest to win a title in the Tour history, and the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour era, since 1990. He also becomes the youngest player ever to win the Argentinian Open, surpassing Carlos Alcaraz, who was 18 years and 9 months when he won it in 2023.
"Even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me", said Fonseca. "That's just amazing. Every Brazilian, everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this that I'm living is just unbelievable".
Time will tell if Fonseca becomes a leading tennis player in the future, joining Sinner and Alcaraz as part of the new generation of stars. He already has defeated a heavy-hitter, Andrey Rublev, at the Australian Open qualifier early this year.