Brazil’s Joao Fonseca has been the cynosure of all eyes since he made his ATP debut. The 18-year-old is quickly rising through the ranks and has received praise from tennis experts all across the globe.
Novak Djokovic, the former World No.1, showered praise on the young Brazilian for taking giant strides on the tour. The youngster made it to the round of 32 in the ongoing Miami Open but his campaign was cut off by Australian Alex de Minaur.
“He’s been [the] talk of the Tour in the last several months. I mean, deservedly so,” Djokovic said in a press conference following the Serbian’s third-round victory against Camilo Ugo Carabelli. “He’s a very good tennis player. I mean, so young. Just incredible firepower from both ends of the baseline, serve [as well]. He’s a very complete player.
“Of course, what is impressive is the way he strikes the ball, but even more so is how he handles the nerves on the court for someone that doesn’t have experience at all playing at the highest level.”
Fonseca has been filling full stadiums and his three matches at Hard Rock Stadium were jam-packed with Miami crowd.
“I think everyone knew that he’s going to have quite a support here,” Djokovic said. “He’s exciting for Brazil, for the world of tennis. I was saying back in Australia, for our tennis ecosystem, our sport, it’s super important to have a superstar, future superstar, hopefully coming from Brazil. Such a big country, big market, important.”
Along with Fonseca, Djokovic reckons Jakub Mensik and Learner Tien are the young players to watch out for as they have the skills to go a long way in their respective careers.
“He’s a very exciting player to watch, but he’s not the only one,” Djokovic said. “You have [Jakub] Mensik. Maybe because people talk about Fonseca so much, they forgot about Mensik. [Learner] Tien, as well. All those players are very young, but they have as good of rankings as he does. They’re as good as him.
“I think it’s exciting, I don’t know what I should call it — that generation, the new generation is bringing. It’s always great that you have exciting players to watch and see the players that have the potential to reach the greatest heights and to carry this sport.”
Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round at the Miami Open.
