It was a first for Joao Fonseca on Sunday, and probably the first of many.
The uber-hyped 18-year-old captured his maiden ATP title with a 6-4, 7-6(1) victory over Francisco Cerundolo in the Argentina Open final. Fonseca twice failed to serve out the match in the second set but dominated the ensuing tiebreaker to triumph after one hour and 49 minutes.
The Brazilian took immediate control of the ‘breaker with a mini-break for 1-0 before producing a massive forehand winner at 2-0. He extended his lead to 4-0 and from there it was all but over for Cerundolo, who watched one more forehand blow by him on Fonseca’s first championship point.
It was an amazing run for Fonseca that came at the expense of four Argentines in five matches. He defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Federico Coria, Mariano Navone, and Cerundolo in addition to a semifinal victory over Spain’s Pedro Martinez. In the quarterfinals against Navone, the teenager came back from a set and a break down, from 3-0 down in the third set, and from 3-5, 15-40, double-championship point down.
“Unbelievable week,” Fonseca assured. “Even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me. That’s just amazing. Every Brazilian…everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this [moment] that I’m living is just unbelievable.
“I want to thank my family, my friends and my sponsors for just helping me achieve my dream, which is to play tennis. Of course I want to be No. 1, of course I want to win slam, titles, but my dream is just to play tennis. And I’m living it.”
Already touted as one of tennis’ future stars prior to his surge that began two months ago, Fonseca is now 18-2 in his last 20 matches dating back to his NextGen ATP Finals triumph in December. The lowest-ranked winner in Buenos Aires history will climb from No. 99 in the world to No. 68.
what a player