Few players enter Australian Open qualifying next week with form like Joao Fonseca.
The talented 18-year-old from Brazil has, in the past three weeks, won titles at the Next Gen ATP Finals and the Canberra Challenger trophy, building a 10-match winning streak.
ENTRY LISTS: See the field for AO 2025 qualifying
The Next Gen triumph saw Fonseca join an impressive honour roll, alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
It’s the latter to whom Fonseca gets compared most, thanks to an incredibly fast arm, and jaw-droppingly powerful groundstrokes, produced from a slight frame.
American Alex Michelsen, who also competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in late December, told The Sit-Down podcast that it was an eye-opening experience facing the rising star last year.
“Fonseca absolutely waxed me in Madrid. I know he can play – he's gonna be sick,” said the world No.41.
“He reminds me of like a mini-Sinner. The way he hits the ball is kinda the same. I played them both... the way they hit the ball, you don't come by that very often.”
Fonseca was devastating this week in Canberra. He dropped just 29 games in five straight-sets wins to secure his second ATP Challenger title. Not one of his opponents managed to force him to a tiebreak.
Apart from his win over qualifier Ethan Quinn in the final, Fonseca beat only higher-ranked opponents, including world No.99 Jacob Fearnley in the semifinals.
With his victory, Fonseca rises to world No.113 in the ATP Live Rankings, and enters Australian Open 2025 qualifying – beginning Monday 6 January – with confidence soaring.
This will be his third Grand Slam qualifying campaign. After falling in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying last year, he subsequently advanced to the final round in New York.
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The Sinner and Alcaraz comparisons are beginning to gather steam, and would not cease should he make his Grand Slam debut at AO 2025.
The Italian and the Spaniard scooped the four Grand Slam titles last year and were the only 18-year-olds to win the Next Gen ATP Finals, until Fonseca emulated them in 2024.
Fonseca’s Canberra Challenger title saw him join Sinner as the only player to win their very next tournament after victory at the Next Gen event.
But as he told the Tennis Culture podcast in Canberra, Fonseca is not focused on such comparisons.
"I'm Joao, I just wanna make my history,” he said.
"[For] us Brazilians, it's super difficult, because when you see a young kid making some good things, people just like to compare and put a lot of pressure on it. So for the media in Brazil I'd just like to say: ‘Just don't compare, just [let me] be me, just let me take my time.’
"For 2025, my first goal is to play the main draws of the Grand Slams. I just wanna do it, and play those big tournaments. It's just my dream.”
