Fonseca adjusting to new fame: “Two years ago it was me asking for autographs””
The 18-year-old Brazilian is already taking the tennis world by storm
Tristan Lapierre/Tennis Majors
At the end of his first ever Masters 1000 victory – a hard-earned, but well-deserved three-set win over Jacob Fearnley at the Indian Wells Masters on Thursday, Joao Fonseca went straight over to the crowd and began signing autographs.
The 18-yar-old Brazilian is fast becoming a new star of men’s tennis, having won the Next Gen Finals last year and then, at the start of this year, beating Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open and going on to win his first title in Buenos Aires the following month.
Fonseca seems to have been born for the big stage and he’s taking in every single moment.
“Everything is new for me,” he said. “I’m still young and I’m still kind of getting used to this.seeing people, and not only Brazilians but from all over the world, cheering for me and calling my name, just wanting autographs, kids.
“Two years ago it was me asking for the autographs. It’s just very nice to see those kids and people watching for me.”
“Everything is super-cool”
Everyone wants a bit of the teenager, whose game is already lighting up the men’s Tour. In Indian Wells, where he plays Jack Draper next, he’s loved every second, including meeting some of the biggest stars of the game for the first time.
“It’s my first time here, my second year as a professional. I’m getting to the better tournaments. So just seeing those different tournaments and seeing the top players.
“Just met Novak (Djokovic) today, Carlos (Alcaraz). So seeing those guys, just like, okay, it’s just like an hour there, so it’s super cool. Everything is super cool.
“Sometimes it comes a pressure, it’s normal…people talking about you, of course going to be the pressure, ‘Joao needs to win this match because he wants (a big) tournament’.
“It will come, and you need to be prepared for it. You just need to focus on what you need to do, and win matches, and focusing with your team on the routines.”
