Joao Fonseca is, in the eyes of many, the next in line to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance.
After all, the Brazilian phenom has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past few years, swiftly establishing himself among the tennis elite despite being just 19 years old.
And yet, despite his fine form and presence at the apex of the sport, he had somehow managed to avoid the world’s top two-ranked players in ATP-level events until this year.
Losing both of the matches he played against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Joao Fonseca still gave a good account of himself and did not damage his stock at all.
Arguably, it just reaffirmed what many already believed.
Joao Fonseca shares what makes Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner the best
Although he did perform admirably in both of those matches, and most recently against Alexander Zverev, Fonseca has still insisted there is still some way to go before he can consider himself an equal of theirs.
Asked what makes the world’s best so great, he began by discussing that three-set thriller against the world number three earlier this month.
Will Joao Fonseca be the man to break up Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance?
If not, who will be?
Fonseca claimed: “Yeah, it was a good match. I mean, it’s always tough to play against those guys. They know how to deal and they know how to manage these matches, the important points, they know how to play it. So yeah, it was a very, very difficult match.”
He then used the experience to make a wider point about the sport’s elite, adding: “I think the difference between, playing against them is the little things, the little important points that you miss the opportunity and it’s going to come, the opportunity’s gonna come like a break point or a time that he feels a little bit more the pressure is gonna come, but it’s gonna be not very much of the time, so you need to kind of get those important points that you have, and I think in this match, I had a little of it and I couldn’t get it.
“And even in the third set, I had some opportunities in the 2-2 that he was feeling a little bit more the pressure, and I couldn’t get it, but I’m playing against those guys. If you don’t get it, you kind of lose, so.
“But yeah, it was… all three matches were super important for me for my development as a player, and looking forward to our next matches.”
Zverev predicted if Fonseca can challenge Alcaraz and Sinner after their recent meeting, in the latest glowing testimony for this teenage sensation.
Joao Fonseca points out where he must improve
What makes people so confident that Fonseca will soon challenge the established elite is his maturity.
Already, for someone so young, he seems well aware of what it will take to get him to the top of the sport.
Later in the same press conference, he was asked what he felt he needed to improve to reach Alcaraz and Sinner’s level.
Fonseca admitted: “ I think it’s actually consistency. I mean, uh, I have pretty good matches and some matches that I don’t play pretty well, and I need to find a solution to kind of, even when I’m not playing good, to find a way to win the match.
Carlos Alcaraz has WITHDRAWN from the Barcelona Open due to injury!
When do you think he will return?
“So I’m trying to play week after week with consistency, and I’m making good results. like a week during, I don’t know, semifinals or another week winning, losing first round another week, doing final again.
“So I’m trying to learn the balance and trying to be more consistent with my results and with my matches and be more solid as well.
“I think understanding more the mental part of the game and those things, I’m still learning from the tour, but yeah, I’m kind of adapting.”
