The Brazilian is the second youngest after Jannik to win the young stars tournament. The American Tien lost in four sets
“A new star is born”, said the BBC commentator in 2001 after Roger Federer’s victory at Wimbledon against the King of Central, Pete Sampras. Here, without bothering gods and legends, we can safely say that the conquest of the Next Gen Finals at just 18 years old represents for Joao Fonseca the first, very important, stamp of a career that promises a lot and has all the symptoms of becoming something special.
the match
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The Brazilian, the second youngest winner in the history of the Next Gen Finals, after Sinner (who won them at 18 years and 2 months in 2019), in the final in Riyadh beat the American Learner Tien in an overall good match, in four sets (2-4 4-3 4-0 4-2 the result). Fonseca, seeded number 8, started tense, perhaps excited at being the absolute favourite, and his American opponent, born in 2005, demonstrated that he was not in the final by chance.
Phenomenal shots
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Time to shake off the tension, however, and the Brazilian began to grind tennis, especially after the second set, won by the native of Rio in the tie break. From that point on, Fonseca demonstrated why he is considered a phenomenon: a forehand of Sinnerian memory (it is no coincidence that they compare him in many things to Jannik) and a narrow cross-court backhand coming out of the cylinder on more than one occasion that made people lick their lips. mustaches to purists and enthusiasts.
South American dominance
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The third and fourth sets were dominated by the South American, the first winner of his Next Gen continent. And thank goodness he was the youngest of all, Joao. He had demonstrated that he was predestined on more than one occasion, even before landing in Saudi Arabia.
Immediately after the victory, Fonseca went to shake hands, complete with a bow, with another not bad tennis player, one Rafael Nadal, ambassador of sport in those parts and present in the stands. A handover? Let’s take it slow. A new star is born, it’s true, but let’s see how bright it will be in the tennis firmament.
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