Joao Fonseca (18th, Brazil, 145th) rose to the top of the singles at the Next Gen Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Finals. Fonseca achieved a 3-1 (2-4, 4-3, 4-0, 4-2) victory over Runner Tien (19th, USA, 122nd) in the singles final on the last day of the tournament held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 23rd.
The Men’s Professional Tennis Next Gen Finals is a ‘next-generation king of kings’ tournament in which only the top eight players of the season among players under the age of 20 can participate. Fonseca is the third time a teenager has won this competition, which started in 2017, after Jannick Sinner (Italy, 23rd, 1st place) in 2019 and Carlos Alcaras (Spain, 21st, 3rd place) in 2021.
Fonseca, who had only competed in challenger tournaments, one level lower than the ATP Tour, until last year, advanced to the quarterfinals at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro in February, his ATP tour debut this season. He then enjoyed his first win since his professional debut at the Lexington Challenger Tournament in July. Fonseca, whose ATP ranking was outside the top 700 at the start of this season, finished his debut season on the ATP Tour at 145th place.
Since winning Next Gen, both Sinner and Alcaras have emerged as world-class players by winning major tournaments and reaching No. 1 in the world rankings. On the other hand, Fonseca’s only win so far is the Lexington Challenger competition. “It’s a good pressure,” said Fonseca of being tied with Sinner and Alcaraz with the same record. “Winning Next Gen shows that I’m heading in the right direction. I hope I can do better than Sinner and Alcaras, and even better than them. “I look forward to playing against those players in a major tournament someday.”
Fonseca, who lost the first set in the final on this day, was pushed back to the set point in the second set, but successfully fought back. Fonseca said, “I tend to talk a lot with my coach when things aren’t going well. I usually like playing in big stadiums with top-ranked players. I enjoy the pressure that comes from that. In particular, the tour stage is a place where you have to hit brave shots. “In that respect, I think we have achieved a lot of growth.”
“When I started the year, I didn’t expect this result,” Fonseca said. I have achieved a lot of growth both physically and psychologically. My mental strength especially improved a lot as I won against players ranked 50th and 20th in the world. I am proud of myself. However, there is still more I want to achieve. “My dream is to be number one in the world,” he said, adding, “Of course, for now, I will enjoy this moment of winning Next Gen to the fullest.”
Fonseca, who is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was 10 minutes away from his home at the tennis stadium where the Rio Open was held. Thanks to that, I was able to watch Rafael Nadal (Spain, 38, retired) win the Rio Open in 2014 from the front row. Although no photos were taken at the time, Fonseca was able to leisurely take a commemorative photo with Nadal after winning that day. This is because Nadal, the ambassador of the Saudi Arabian Tennis Association, visited the final match and watched it in person.
Reporter Lim Bomi [email protected]
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog