Joao Fonseca Is the New El Fenomeno of Brazilian Tennis

At the 2023 ATP Finals in Turin, Joao Fonseca, still a baby-faced teenager, soaking in excitement at the seismic opportunity of hitting with Jannik Sinner during a practice session, was caught in two minds.

Then shortly after acting as a sparring partner, he had a life-changing conversation with the current mens World No.1.

How Joao Fonseca Turned Pro You are too good for this, go to the pros, Fonseca recollects the exact words said by Sinner after their interaction.

Sinner was clearly impressed and knew how to spot instant talent having been in similar shoes himself until his explosive rise to the upper echelons of the sport.

Fonseca was coming off his finest season on the junior circuit.

He was ranked the junior World No.

1 and had just captured the US Open Boys singles title after hammering 41 winners past an equally talented rival Learner Tien in the final.

Yet, Fonseca was undecided on whether to stay put at the University of Virginia where he had spent his precious time pursuing studies and honing his tennis skillset, or turn professional.

Within three months after digesting Sinners words of wisdom, Fonseca chose to forego college studies in order to become a full-time tennis pro.

Its possible that Fonseca already made up his mind after meeting Sinner two years ago, but he needed a launching pad to feel vindicated of his decision.

His run to the Rio Open quarterfinals last February served as a catalyst.

Fonsecas infectious energy ensured the main court in his home city was always sold out and the sound of his name reverberated in all four corners.

Less than a week after the tournament, he could not resist the regular thrill of the tour.

It was an incredibly tough decision for me and my family, He expressed himself in a social media post .

In the last few months, professional tennis called me in a way that I simply couldnt say no.

Brazils Longing For Tennis Superstar Could Be Over For many years, Brazil craved a tennis superstar who possessed the charisma, style, and talent of Gustavo Kuerten Guga as he is affectionately known.

He won three Grand Slams (all at Roland Garros) and the ATP Finals in a distinguished playing career.

Since 2000, he is the only man besides Rafael Nadal who lifted back-to-back French Opens.

Fonseca has quickly become a household name back in Brazil with his Instagram following closing in on the one million mark.

His name is also on every tennis fans lips, made more popular by his cameos in the last three months.

Fonseca etched his name on the list of champions at the NextGen Finals last November, joining his peer Sinner.

He also won the Canberra Challenger at the start of January and defeated top 10 player Andrey Rublev on his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open.

Those results quickly saw him climb into the worlds top 100.

Fonseca Captured First ATP Title At the Argentina Open But the full circle moment happened in the hostile environment of Buenos Aires, over 1000 miles from Rio de Janeiro against an Argentinian opponent.

Brazilian fans packed to the rafters made their voices heard and Fonseca repaid them with another resilient performance.

Serving for the title against Francisco Cerundolo, the 18-year-old buckled under sustained pressure and nerves, not once but twice.

Still, he showed age-defying maturity to seal the deal in the tie-break.

Fonseca prevailed 6-4 7-6 and has become the youngest South American winner on the ATP Tour (since 1990).

Not many will forget that Fonseca was on the brink of defeat in the quarterfinals against Mariano Navone when he was two match points down.

And within a blink of an eye he staved off both match points, the second one with a bullet backhand down the line that we will see for many years to come.

For a nation that has anointed many heroes in its sporting annals and prides itself in producing a long list of iconic athletes, mostly in footballnone more prominent than Ronaldo El Fenomenothere is a high level of assurance that Fonseca might be the generational talent that Brazil desperately needed to fill Kuertens void and possibly the new phenomenon.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission..

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