Joao Fonseca is his name, staying on top is his game! The 18-year-old Brazilian rising star has now reached the finals of the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals. Fonseca has won all of his four matches in Jeddah this week. It also includes one of the biggest wins of his career, against the Top 20 player, Arthur Fils. Looking at his red-hot form here, who’d say this is his maiden appearance in this tournament? With his impressive 4-2,4-2,4-1 victory over France’s Luca Van Assche, he has now managed to put his name beside the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but how?

Joao Fonseca has now become the second youngest finalist in the Next Gen ATP Final after the current world number one, Jannik Sinner. The Italian star achieved this landmark in 2019 when he won the title at the age of just 18 years and 2 months. While Fonseca did it at the age of 18 years and 3 months! Guess who’s third on that list? Well, Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz won this title in 2021 at the age of just 18 years and 6 months. Can Fonseca follow in their footsteps and win the title? Time will tell, but is this the only record Joao Fonseca created recently in Jeddah?

Well, Fonseca has also become the first representative from South America to reach the finals of the tournament. Previously, the only South American to compete was Sebastian Baez (ARG). Baez reached the SF of the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2021. So, his victory against Van Assche has now put him in the history books of this tournament. What did Fonseca say after the match, though? “Today was a great match. I played really solidly…He didn’t have too many chances because I was playing so aggressively and making all the shots. There is one more match to go, and I hope I can for it,” said Fonseca.

Next up for the Brazilian is the 19-year-old American Learner Tien. Sunday’s final will feature the two youngest players in the eight-man field with Joao Fonseca having the advantage of already beating Tien in the group stages. From seeing Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz doing the heroics on the court to putting his name beside them, Joao Fonseca surely has covered a lot of distance in the last few years. Has he ever met Alcaraz and Sinner, though?

When Joao Fonseca talked about his interaction with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

Previously during an interview on The Sit-Down podcast, we saw another American youngster, Alex Michelsen say, “He (Joao Fonseca) reminds me of like a mini-(Jannik)Sinner. The way he hits the ball is kind of the same. I played them both… the way they hit the ball, you don’t come by that very often.” Can he reach the heights of Sinner and Alcaraz? Well, looking at his enormous potential, surely this kid has a bright future up ahead! Do you know even Jannik Sinner had once heaped praise on Joao Fonseca?

He met Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. Recalling his first interaction with Sinner, he said, “It was at the Nitto ATP Finals last year. I was a hitting partner and we hit on the first or second day. He (Jannik Sinner) is a really nice guy. Since the beginning, I was looking to go to university. I was committed to [the University of] Virginia and he said to me, ‘Are you going to university?‘ He said, ‘You are too good for this, go to [the] pros.‘ So that was a nice thing. I thought this guy was kidding me and playing a joke. That was the first time I had practiced with him and he was really nice, as were his coaches.”

What about his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz? Does he talk to him? During a previous interview with CLAY, Fonseca revealed, “We have a good relationship, we always talk when we meet. He and his team are very calm, he is doing things well. He is an idol for the whole next generation.“

How does he look at Jannik Sinner’s rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz? “I see them in their rivalry and that’s where I want to go. Sometimes I think, ‘I’m going to aim for top 100, top 50.‘ No. I’m going to look at them. I want to be like them. I want to win Grand Slams and other big tournaments. Alcaraz and Sinner serve as inspiration and motivation to keep working harder and harder,” said Fonseca. Do you think Joao Fonseca can follow in the footsteps of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and win the title on Sunday?