Fonseca downs Nishikori, reaches Phoenix Challenger final

Joao Fonseca ousted former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori in convincing fashion Saturday to storm into the championship match at the Arizona Tennis Classic. In front of a sellout crowd at the ATP Challenger 175 event, Fonseca downed the Japanese star 6-3, 6-3.

Fonseca’s statement win was fueled by a strong-serving performance and fearless ball-striking. When Nishikori looked to engage in backhand-to-backhand rallies, the 18-year-old boldly ripped the ball down the line. With stars including Mats Wilander, former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and NBA legend Steve Nash in attendance, Fonseca improved to 19-4 across all levels this season.

“First of all, it was just a pleasure to share the court with Kei,” Fonseca said. “Amazing player, amazing athlete, really nice person. Just very happy with the way I managed to win today, going for my shots aggressively, making him uncomfortable during the match.

“We say in Portuguese, ‘closing the doors’, not letting him believe that he can win. Having a break and serving well, staying with the break, this was very good. Happy to win.”

The moment Joao Fonseca secured his third final of the season 💪 #ATPChallenger | @aztennisclassic pic.twitter.com/FuJz8plJBi

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 15, 2025

The champion at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the teenager opened the year with a title run at the Canberra Challenger, just two weeks removed from his Jeddah triumph. Fonseca earned his first tour-level title last month at the clay-court ATP 250 in Buenos Aires.

Fonseca will aim for his third ATP Challenger Tour title in Sunday’s final against Alexander Bublik.

The 27-year-old Bublik spoiled Nuno Borges’ quest for a three-peat in Phoenix, defeating the Portuguese player 6-3, 6-4 in just 65 minutes. Bublik hammered 16 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Borges entered the semi-final clash with a 12-0 record at the Phoenix Country Club.

Kovacevic upsets top seed in Cap Cana
American Aleksandar Kovacevic survived top seed Alexandre Muller 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) to reach the final at the Republica Dominicana Open, Copa Cap Cana Ciudad Destino.

The 26-year-old Kovacevic, who reached his first tour-level final in Montpellier last month, held his nerve in a deciding-set tie-break to advance after two hours, 25 minutes.

“I think I just started to serve and return a little bit better," Kovacevic said when describing his third-set turnaround. "He broke me in the second and first set, both very early, so I don’t think my first-serve percentage was very high.

"I figured out the return a little better in the third set and then it got better especially in the tie-break and that was the difference. It was very windy, so if you could just get the ball back in play a lot of the time and I could limit the times he got the ball back in play, then I was doing pretty well."

A five-time Challenger champion, Kovacevic will face Damir Dzumhur in the final. The 32-year-old Dzumhur rallied past #NextGenATP Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 after two hours, 43 minutes, during which the three-time tour-level champion created 13 break chances, converting five.

In 2024, Dzumhur collected a season-leading six Challenger titles. The former No. 23 returned to the Top 100 for the first time in four years.