AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2025 – A future star of world tennis was surely born in Melbourne: the Brazilian João Fonseca, 18 years old. Coming out of qualifying and scoring his first Top 10 in the first round, he impressed for what was only the first Grand Slam draw of his young career. We collected testimonies from three French players who faced him before his explosion, and who were already impressed.
Many discovered him this week on the courts of Melbourne Park, after his sensational victory against the world No. 9 Andrey Rublev. However, he has been terrorizing the secondary circuits for several months already. João Fonseca (n°112) is the new nugget of world tennis. At 18 years old, the Brazilian already has a complete and attractive game, to which everything seems to be succeeding at the moment. In recent months, several French people have paid the price. Among them, we collected the feelings ofHarold Mayot (n°127), Gabriel Debru (n°255) and Kyrian Jacquet (No. 272). Three players that the young South American has already surpassed in the space of a few months.
A feeling of helplessness
When João Fonseca is having a good day and playing his game, there is not much to do. Overpowering from the baseline and with a very annoying serve for his opponents, he is also ultra-aggressive in the rally. “I thought it had zero holes. He hit all the balls super hard, even on defense. He put crazy intensity on every shot” describes for example Jacquet, who was unable to do anything during their confrontation in Lyon in November (6-4, 6-4 defeat). And yet, “I thought I had a good match…”
Same feeling for Mayot, who lost twice against Fonseca in nine months. From their first confrontation (defeat in Madrid, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6), he felt something ” different “ at his house : “I didn’t expect this type of player. On television, we don’t realize how hard he hits, how heavy his serve is. » However, he was able to win a set, because the Brazilian was only 17 years old, and everything had not yet clicked for him. During their second meeting at the beginning of January, however, there was no match (6-2 6-3 defeat in Canberra).
Debru, for his part, managed to beat his junior by six months during his title at Roland-Garros Juniors in 2022 (7-5, 6-3). The latter was still far from being the player he is today. “I beat him because he was still making a lot of mistakes. There were a lot of people cheering him on, I think that put a little pressure on him.” he revealed during an interview for the show Tweener Time early 2024. But the Frenchman was still “shocked” by his ball strikinglike everyone else these last few days. Fonseca currently holds the record for the fastest forehand of this Australian Open, flashed at… 181 km/h.
Great precocity
The career of the Rio de Janeiro native is only just beginning. Already entered the virtual Top 100 at 18, he is by far the most accomplished player among the 2006 generation and above. He has two Challenger titles and the Next Gen ATP Finals under his belt. His ball striking is simply exceptional for his age. “At 17 [à l’époque du match]I think it’s monstrous” observe Harold Mayot. “I didn’t think it was possible at his age” adds Gabriel Debru. Even Andrey Rublev, although accustomed to very high level games, was not able to get many of his attacks. The Russian conceded… 51 winning shots in three sets.
In addition, João Fonseca impresses with his behavior. Beyond his conquering attitude and his rage to win, he never destabilizes, and this is what impressed Kyrian Jacquet the most: “He doesn’t say a word. Even on important points, he never stressed and kept the same pattern of play.” The winner of the 2023 US Open Juniors appears to have all the physical and mental assets on his side. “Physically, he’s already a man, he’s big [1,85 m]it is square » observes Mayot. The young Messin concludes his testimony perfectly: “When he manages to frame his game, he will be very hard to get. I think he’s going to be one of the best. » In the meantime, we will already have to defeat the Italian Sonego (n°55) in the second round in Melbourne, against whom the current world n°112 is the bookmakers’ favorite at… 5 to 1.
