Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca believes he is on the right path to achieve his future goals, but admits there is still a way to go for him to reach those targets.
The world No. 40 heads into the clay court swing following an encouraging performance in the United States, where he reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and then the second round in Miami. At those events, he was knocked out of the draws by the world’s two best players – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He took Sinner to two tiebreakers before losing and fell 6-4, 6-4, to Alcaraz.
Fonseca, a 19-year-old, has been tipped by some as a future rival to the Italian-Spanish duo, who have won the last nine Grand Slams between them. Although he has yet to break into the top 20, reaching a best of 24th last year in what was his first full year on the Tour. He currently has two ATP titles to his name but has yet to reach a singles quarter-final this season.
“I played both of them and they were good matches, but I’m not close yet,” Fonseca said of Alcaraz and Sinner when speaking to reporters in Monte Carlo.
“I hope in the future I’ll be. They were close matches but they play like this every match.
“I need to be more consistent. I need to work harder. But I think I’m on the right path.”
Fonseca kicked off his campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters on Monday with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Canada’s Gabriel Diallo. He is making his debut at the event, which hasn’t seen a Brazilian champion since 2001 when Gustavo Kuerten won his second title there.
“Everyone has their time. My time will come,” he continued.
“I’m doing great, keeping with this routine, keeping with this mentality to work quietly and hard.
“The expectations are going to come. People see young players doing great things, and they pull us into the top of the rankings.
“People need time. Everyone has their own time, so I want to do my history. I hope I’ll be there competing against them, but people need to understand that I need time to become what they want me to do and I want to become.”
There are also other rising stars on the men’s Tour, such as Learner Tien and recently crowned Marrakech Open champion Rafael Jodar. Fonseca is currently one of nine players aged 21 or under in the top 100 on the ATP Tour. Out of that group, Tien is the highest-ranked at 22nd.
“I want to become No. 1, but I know I need to take time. I’m still No.40 in the world, so I need to be humble to understand this. Hopefully, I can have a bright future ahead.” He concluded.
Fonseca will play Arthur Rinderknech in the next round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
