Joao Fonseca also showed flashes of his enormous talent during the Miami Open – the second Masters 1000 of the season – in which he defeated young local idol Learner Tien and French ace Ugo Humbert, putting forth two truly outstanding performances that left the crowd speechless.
Because of the huge South American community present in Miami, fans supported the 18-year-old Brazilian in all his matches and it felt like being at the Rio Open in some moments. Joao did not disappoint expectations, although he was defeated by Alex de Minaur in the third round.
Fonseca had no fear against an opponent much younger than him, won the first set and was ahead by a break in the deciding set, but the Australian’s experience made the difference in the decisive moment and the Brazilian had to surrender after a tough battle.
His 2025 is really stellar so far, when you consider that he lifted his first ATP trophy in Buenos Aires while also improving his ATP ranking thanks to victories in the Canberra and Phoenix Challengers.
Brazil already loves Fonseca
Joao’s talent is bound to create something magical in Brazil, which seemed to have finally found the worthy heir to Gustavo Kuerten. It is no coincidence that his match against de Minaur in the third round of the Miami Open was the most-watched match ever on ESPN Brazil.
According to reports from ‘Bola Amarela,’ Brazilian fans already adore Fonseca and hope to see him win a big title soon.
The latter has already shown that he does not suffer from pressure and that he can play his best tennis even against opponents who have much more experience than him in major tournaments (as was the case against Andrey Rublev in Melbourne earlier this year).
“I am happy because I am facing the best in the world more and more, so I can see my level. It’s only my second year on the pro tour, so I need to accumulate as much experience as possible”-Fonseca confessed after his last match in Florida.
Tennis World USA