Every year, the tennis world produces some young stars who leave a mark on the circuit. Last season, it was the 18-year-old Brazilian sensation, Joao Fonseca. He capped off the 2024 season by winning the ATP Next Gen Finals, putting on some enthralling performances during the course of the tournament. Subsequently, he also won the Challenger title in Canberra in the lead-up to the Australian Open. However, this wasn’t it as he upset Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Grand Slam Down Under. Amid Fonseca’s massive rise, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou heaped praise on him.

A few hours back, Mouratoglou dropped a video on his official Instagram handle in which he credited Fonseca’s exploits on the tour over the past few months. Notably, Fonseca also topped the charts for an interesting stat at the Australian Open. He hit the fastest forehand at the tournament and Mouratoglou praised his hard-hitting skills.

The legendary French coach revealed, “I love Fonseca, he’s the next big thing coming up and I think he’s so exciting. His personality is like a sun, he is shining. Very good serve, very good backhand. Forehand, literal bomb. I mean, he hit a forehand at 180 km/h, the fastest of the tournament. He has the fire in the racket, but he has the fire also in his personality.”

While Fonseca reached the second round of the Australian Open after entering the tournament as a qualifier, continues to take giant strides on the tour as he broke another record. After his campaign Down Under, Fonseca broke into the top 100 and became the youngest Brazilian in the top 100, surpassing the previous record held by former world number one, Gustavo Kuerten. Fonseca is currently placed in the 98th position in the ATP rankings.

Further, Fonseca’s next challenge is in the Davis Cup as Brazil will face France in the qualifiers. Ahead of the event, Fonseca opened up about representing his country in the Davis Cup.

Joao Fonseca wants to continue his giant-killing form

The 18-year-old sensation is taking valuable lessons from his Australian Open campaign. Interestingly, the Davis Cup tie between Brazil and France will take place on indoor hard courts in Orleans, France. The Brazilian sensation has had good exposure to the surface, having played the ATP Next Gen Finals on a similar surface and winning the tournament. As a result, he sounded confident ahead of the Davis Cup tie.

Fonseca revealed, “It’s a quicker surface than outdoor courts, but I’m used to it. I played quite a bit indoors at the end of the year, so I was able to adapt better. I feel comfortable here; it’s been great training. I hope to keep this rhythm going for the rest of the days and carry this vibe forward.”

Fonseca will open the proceedings for Brazil as he will take on Ugo Humbert. The tie is set to take place on 1st and 2nd February, with the winners proceeding to the second qualifying round and keeping the hopes of reaching the Davis Cup Finals alive.