Teen Dream: Fonseca fires into Rio QFs

Playing like the carefree teenager that he is, 17-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca thundered into the Rio de Janeiro quarter-finals with a crowd-pleasing 6-4, 6-4 win over Chilean Cristian Garin Thursday night.

Growing up just 10 minutes from the Jockey Club, where 10 years ago as a seven-year-old he watched Rafael Nadal play, Fonseca has become the second-youngest ATP 500 quarter-finalist since the series began in 2009.

“I’m living a dream and I haven’t realised what I’ve achieved yet,” said Fonseca, who joined countrymen Thiago Monteiro and Thiago Seyboth Wild in the quarter-finals. “But I wanna keep dreaming, I’m really happy with my path up until now but I want more. I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing and how I grew this past year not only technically but also mentally and physically. I can’t thank my team, my family and friends enough.”

"I knew Cristian was an experienced guy, he knows how to face pressure and today I was a bit more tense at the start of the match. But I adapted quickly, kept focused and with the help of the crowd I managed to win."

Playing cavalier tennis, Fonseca balanced 17 unforced errors alone in the first set with sustained return-game pressure that yielded break points in four of Garin's five service games according to Infosys ATP Stats. Fonseca delivered a message of intent just three points into the match when he sent a massive serve to the Ad court rocketing into Garin's body.

After handing back an early break and then a second break, Fonseca broke to level at 4-4 and then claimed a second consecutive break to close out the set.

After taking out last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up Arthur Fils in the first round, Fonseca knuckled down in the second set against the former Top 20 Chilean, who is a five-time ATP Tour champion on clay.

The final eight all settled in Rio 👀 pic.twitter.com/Vz1fKA9vlC

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 23, 2024

Undaunted, Fonseca embarked on a different pathway to success in the second set, during which neither player offered a break chance until the final point of the match, which Fonseca converted when Garin netted a forehand down the line.

For a place in the semi-finals, Fonseca will next play 22-year-old Argentine qualifier Mariano Navone. He has beaten Navone at the Challenger level but this will be their first tour-level Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

“Navone is an old acquaintance, we played a challenger a few years ago and I won my second match against him," Fonseca said. "I know it’s going to be a very tough match, he’s an Argentinian, runs a lot and hits a lot and he's also in a great place right now."

Fonseca came into the tournament as the World No. 655, but has surged 314 places in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings to No. 341. Should he complete his fairytale run and take the title, he is projected to rise to around No. 111.

Did You Know?
Alexander Zverev holds the record as the youngest player to reach an ATP 500 quarter-final. He made the last eight in Hamburg in 2014 as a 17-year-old.