João Fonseca assured this Saturday (15) the dispute of his first ATP level final. In Buenos Aires, the Brazilian surpassed a good start of the Serb by Laslo Dere, won by 2 sets to 1, with partials of 7/6, 5/7 and 6/1, and reached the decision of the tournament played in Argentine clay.
After beating the first set, the Brazilian saw the Serbian recover in the second and had a difficult task in the decisive set. He had to deal with muscle pain in the lower back. When she won the set 2-1, he fell on the court and had to be attended by his physical therapist.
The moment of tension for the present fans who supported Fonseca became confident when he returned and rolled consecutive points, important to victory, after 2:34 am of duel, which changed the tennis player’s level.
At 18 and five months old, Fonseca becomes the youngest Brazilian to play an ATP final in the open era (from 1968). He is also the youngest South American in an ATP decision since Argentine José Acasusus in 2001. And the newest finalist of an ATP in the clay since Carlos Alcaraz in 2021, and is the 10th newest in history to reach a decision of the tour.
“Today was with the heart, today was with pain and we surpassed. Very special. Today was very difficult against a very good player,” said the Brazilian. “I played my best. We’re in the final so one more missing and we go ahead,” he added.
The final is scheduled for this Sunday (16) at 16h. The opponent will leave the confrontation between the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo (28th of the ranking) and Spanish Pedro Martínez (41st of the ranking).
The classification to the semifinal had already guaranteed the tennis player Fluminense his best position in the ranking of ATP (Association of Professional Tennis players). Now, with the place in the decision, he will take over the number one post in Brazil, surpassing Thiago Wild, which will occupy 73rd position on next week’s list.
If it is champion, Fonseca will appear among the top 70 ranking next week.
Wild said goodbye to the ATP 250 of Buenos Aires on Friday (14), when he lost precisely to Serbian Laslo Djere and stopped in the quarterfinals, with partials of 7/6 (7/3) and 6/3.
In simple tournaments, the last Brazilian to play an ATP final was Wild himself in March 2020, when he, then 19, won the title of the ATP 250 of Santiago, Chile, by defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final.
Appointed as one of the biggest promises of Brazilian tennis, Fonseca gained international prominence between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. In this interval, he became champion of Next Gen ATP finis-Competition held in Saudi Arabia, with the eight best tennis players with Up to 20 years of the season – and also beat him Challenger de Canberra, Australia.
He then triumphed in his three matches in the Australian Open qualifying phase and made a memorable match in his debut in the main key to a Grand Slam tournament, which brings together the four most important circuit events.
The good performance turned the young carioca into the great attraction of Rio Open, whose main key will be played from next Monday, in Rio de Janeiro.
At the ATP of Buenos Aires, he even made local press surrender to his talent after passing three tennis players in the country until he reached the semifinal. With great performances, he eliminated in sequence: Thomas Martín Etcheverry, Federico Coria and, finally, Mariano Navone.
After the most recent victory over the Argentines, the diary “Olé” called the Brazilian “phenomenon”, besides analyzing the stance of John in the tournament of someone with “absolute class” and a text that had as its title: ” A star is born “.
