ATP Tour

Miguel grew up watching Djokovic, is 'big fan' of Fonseca & now Roland Garros champion

Joao Fonseca is not the only Brazilian who made his mark on this edition of Roland Garros.

Top seed Guto Miguel became the first Brazilian to claim a Roland Garros junior singles trophy on Saturday when he beat 13th seed Michael Antonius 6-3, 6-4 in the boys’ singles final.

“I think it means a lot, for sure. It's a lot of hard work me and my team have put, not only this week, but many, many years ago,” Miguel said. “I think everything worked right now, but just really happy. Enjoying the moment, but [keeping] humble, because we have a lot to do yet.”

The 17-year-old showed his promise in February on the ATP Tour as a 16-year-old, winning a set against Vilius Gaubas in the first round of the main draw at the Rio Open presented by Claro, an ATP 500 event. The teen lost the match, but his talent was clear.

Miguel made his first ATP Challenger Tour semi-final last month in Santos, Brazil, and carried that momentum to the clay-court major. Despite losing a set in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals, he played some of his best tennis with the title on the line. Miguel broke Antonius’ serve four times from nine tries according to Infosys Stats to triumph in one hour and 15 minutes.

This victory comes off the back of Fonseca’s career-best major run to the quarter-finals. The 19-year-old upset 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud.

“When I was a kid, I was always watching Djokovic playing, but now I'm a big fan of Joao Fonseca. What he's doing is amazing,” Miguel said. “Brazil has amazing history here in [the] French Open. What Guga has made, Fonseca made this week, and now I think I did a little bit more for Brazil right now.

“I think Brazil are living a good moment again, and [all the] players are growing up together.”