Australian Open > Mats Wilander, on Joao Fonseca: “It’s crazy what he’s doing, but paradoxically, that’s where people are wrong: there’s no pressure for a young man of 18 years old when he’s going to play Andrey Rublev. Now we’re going to see what he’s made of.”

Praised this Wednesday by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, the great Brazilian hope Joao Fonseca, winner of the Next Gen Masters in December, has been the talk of the town a lot since his resounding victory against Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

While all observers were impressed by the performance, seven-time Grand Slam winner and Eurosport star consultant Mats Wilander also warned the 18-year-old, who faced Lorenzo Sonego in the second round on Thursday.

“He is so complete and the attitude is absolutely fantastic. I’m a big fan, this guy will go very, very far. It’s crazy what he does, but paradoxically that’s where people go wrong: there’s no pressure for an 18-year-old when he’s going to play Andrey Rublev. He has no bad memories as a professional player. Now the pressure will rise and we will see what he is made of. I still think he’s going to be a great player. It’s still very solid, very strong in managing emotions: it already has everything to enter the Top 20”,

Published on Wednesday January 15, 2025 at 5:48 p.m.