Fonseca makes history in Buenos Aires, wins first ATP Tour title

Joao Fonseca’s eye-catching ascent hit new heights on Sunday at the IEB+ Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, where he captured his maiden tour-level title.

The 18-year-old Brazilian produced a dazzling performance to defeat fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6(1), becoming the youngest South American to win a title in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). Competing in his first tour-level final, Fonseca twice unsuccessfully served for the match but regrouped in style to sink a fourth Argentine of the week amid a raucous atmosphere in the capital.

“Unbelievable week, even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me,” an emotional Fonseca said. “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 Slams, titles, but my dream is just to play tennis, and I’m living it.”

Joao is NOW 🌟

18-year-old prodigy Fonseca is the 10th youngest champion in ATP Tour history@ArgentinaOpen | #ArgOpen2025 pic.twitter.com/OmlB7ocC72

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 16, 2025

One year ago, Fonseca was No. 648 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the 52 weeks since. The teen has begun his 2025 season on a high, winning an ATP Challenger Tour title, upsetting Andrey Rublev as a qualifier at the Australian Open, and now claiming his first ATP Tour trophy.

Fonseca was on the brink of defeat in his quarter-final against Mariano Navone, but showed his fighting spirit to save two match points and complete an epic comeback victory. Having won three of his four matches prior to the final in deciding sets, Fonseca may have been fatigued. Yet the teenager found an extra burst of energy to motor through a blistering second-set tie-break against Cerundolo.

Sunday’s championship match proved to be a battle between two blistering forehands, and it was Fonseca who was successful in using his own to dictate the baseline exchanges. The Brazilian outhit Cerundolo in their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head series, striking 26 winners, including 17 from the forehand side, to the Argentine's 16.

With his one-hour, 45-minute victory, Fonseca became the 10th-youngest titlist in ATP Tour history. The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion will climb to a career-high No. 68 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.

Youngest Champions in ATP Tour era (since 1990)

Chasing his fourth ATP Tour title, Buenos Aires-native Cerundolo struggled to contain the heat on his favoured forehand wing. The Argentine misplaced seven forehands in an error-strewn seventh game to give Fonseca an ultimately unassailable lead in the first set.

In stark contrast to Fonseca, who struck cleanly from his forehand wing, further errors began to creep back into Cerundolo’s game in the second set. The 26-year-old fired back-to-back forehands wide in the fifth game to hand Fonseca another break and put him on the cusp of a maiden tour-level trophy. The 18-year-old did, however, show the first signs of nerves when serving out the match at 5-4, and 6-5, but he retrieved his level in a commanding tie-break to become the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history at World No. 99.

With his triumph, Fonseca became the second-youngest South American to win a title in the Open Era, behind only Guillermo Perez-Roldan, who won Munich, Athens and Buenos Aires in 1987.

The 18-year-old gained entry into the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires through the Next Gen Accelerator, which was expanded this year, allowing 20-and-under players ranked in the Top 250 eligibility for one ATP 250 main draw spot and two ATP 250 qualifying events this season.