Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are certainly the two current leaders of the men’s tour, but they are likely to face Joao Fonseca very soon. The talent of the Brazilian ace had been known to insiders for some time, but his rise in recent months has really impressed everyone.
Joao has changed gears since the end of last year, when he won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah playing incredible tennis favored by a particularly fast surface. Fonseca worked very hard together with his team during the off-season and started 2025 in very high gears.
The Brazilian star immediately won the Canberra Challenger, passed the Australian Open qualifiers without losing a single set and demolished a Top 10 player like Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Happy Slam with a very brilliant performance (embellished by more than 50 winners).
After that clash, the whole world congratulated Fonseca, who struggled to handle the pressure and succumbed to Italian ace Lorenzo Sonego in the next round.
Fonseca continues to impress
Joao returned to shine in Buenos Aires this week, where he reached his first semifinal on the ATP tour. In the quarterfinals, the current world number 99 defeated local idol Mariano Navone at the end of an incredible battle that lasted almost 3 hours.
The Brazilian was one step away from defeat, having gone down a set and a break and having canceled two match points in the ninth game of the third set.
Despite playing a match full of ups and downs, Fonseca showed why he is destined to become one of the best players in the world in the near future.
In his press conference, Navone discussed the rise of the young Brazilian: “We played a really intense and spectacular match, which was made even more special by the crowd. I have to admit that he has grown a lot and is continuing to improve at a pace that is not normal for most players. He has a very bright future ahead of him.” Joao will face Serbian ace Laslo Djere for a place in the final.
Tennis World USA