ATP Tour

Fonseca fires into first ATP 500 final in Basel

Joao Fonseca ticked off another glittering milestone in his breakout 2025 season on Saturday at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

The 19-year-old overcame a topsy-turvy semi-final clash with Jaume Munar to prevail 7-6(4), 7-5 and reach his first ATP 500 final. Fonseca rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the second set and fired 39 winners en route to becoming the first Brazilian to reach a final at this level since the series’ introduction in 2009.

🇧🇷 FONSEQUISMO MAGIC IN BASEL 🇧🇷

Joao Fonseca breaks new ground, advancing to his maiden ATP 500 final with a 7-6(4) 7-5 victory over Munar!#SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/vzUOCVCorN

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 25, 2025

“I knew that it was going to be a tough match, Jaume is playing [well] on this surface,” said Fonseca. “He’s putting a lot of pressure, and you need to defend a lot of the time. I don’t like playing against those guys because I like to play aggressive and go for winners.

“I’m happy with how I stayed mentally after an early break in the second set. I’m very happy, so let’s stay hyped for the final.”

Fonseca will have the chance to add a second ATP Tour trophy to his collection when he takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Sunday’s final at the indoor hard-court event. The #NextGenATP star triumphed in Buenos Aires in February for his first trophy.

With his victory, Fonseca is up 12 spots to No. 34 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, ensuring a new career high on Monday.

“It’s been an amazing year, starting at No. 130 in the world, now 40-something and into a first ATP 500 final,” said Fonseca, who is 24-15 on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “We didn’t go to Asia this year, I was a little bit sick. I was working with my mentality and I’m getting the opportunities… I’m just very happy to be here.”

Fonseca defeated defending champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round and has since displayed a consistent level this week. But he saved his best for a scintillating semi-final outing against Munar, despite trailing by a break in the second set.

The fearless shotmaking that has become a defining feature of the Brazilian’s rise was on full display throughout the one-hour, 56-minute clash, after which he improved to 1-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Munar.

Davidovich Fokina advanced to the final later on Saturday when Ugo Humbert retired with the Spaniard leading 7-6(4), 3-1. The eighth seed is the fifth man to reach four tour-level finals this season, joining Carlos Alcaraz (10), Jannik Sinner (8), Felix Auger-Aliassime (4) and Alexander Bublik (4).

The lone seeded player in the Basel semi-finals, Davidovich Fokina is the second Spanish finalist in tournament history, after Rafael Nadal in 2015. He will seek his first tour-level trophy in his fifth final, having missed out on three championship points in his most recent title match, against Alex de Minaur in Washington.