In the age of information and technology, not many records go unnoticed in the world of sports. However, a bizarre incident occurred last week after Brazilian sensation, Joao Fonseca reached the summit clash of the Argentina Open and went on to win it subsequently. After beating Laslo Djere in the semis, Fonseca became the youngest player in an ATP final since 2000. But Boris Becker wasn’t happy about being left off the list, feeling he got snubbed. Chris Evert had his back and defended him.

Becker was one of the youngest champs on the ATP Tour. In 1985, he won the Queen’s Club Championships at just 17 years and 207 days, then claimed Wimbledon at 17 years and 227 days, becoming the youngest male Grand Slam singles champ at the time.

As a result, his omission from the elite list of youngest champions didn’t go down well with him and he hit out with a sarcastic question, “So before the year 2000, we didn’t play tennis?” Subsequently, Chris Evert also joined and supported Becker by saying, “We did the best with the information, technology, (wood rackets!) training that was out there. We were champions in our era. Enough said!!!!”

The list shared by Tennis TV put Fonseca on the top at 17 years and 7 months followed by Kei Nishikori at 18 years and a month. However, it excluded Becker since it was from 2000 and the latter was upset at being left out. Amid this controversy, Boris Becker recently shared how lucky his generation was because of the absence of social media.

“I was lucky that Instagram didn’t exist when I was playing. The hype today would certainly be comparable to that of a Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. You don’t have a private life at all. Many things in my life were great highlights, some of which I would certainly not do today. I try to stay calm and find solutions to all problems. That’s what I did when playing tennis,” he stated.

Nonetheless, it was a historic win for Joao Fonseca, who is having a massive rise on the ATP Tour. After the first title win of his career on the ATP Tour, the 18-year-old was left elated.

Joao Fonseca can’t control his emotions

It was Fonseca’s biggest win of his short career so far, having never tasted success at this level before. Although he had to dig deep in many contests, the Brazilian sensation kept his cool and won crucial moments to prevail. In the summit clash, he defeated the local favorite, Fransisco Cerundolo in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (1) to win the title. Subsequently, he found it tough to control his emotions.

Fonseca revealed, “Unbelievable week, even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me. That’s just amazing. Every Brazilian, everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this [moment] that I’m living is just unbelievable. I want to thank my family, my friends, and my sponsors for just helping me achieve my dream, which is to play tennis. Of course, I want to be No. 1, of course, I want to win Slams, titles, but my dream is just to play tennis, and I’m living it.”

With this win, Joao Fonseca jumped 31 spots to be on the 68th spot in the latest ATP rankings. While it may be the biggest win of his career so far, there will surely be more to come from the 18-year-old Brazilian sensation, who has left one and all impressed with his game.