Carlos Alcaraz was once a teenager winning grand slam titles and the Spanish superstar believes Joao Fonseca could follow in his footsteps.
The Brazilian 18-year-old stunned the Australian Open by defeating world no.9 Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Tuesday night.
The teenager has burst onto the scene in the past couple of months after winning the ATP Next Gen Finals in November, which featured the likes of Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen and Jakub Mensik.
After winning his second round match against Yoshihito Nishioka, Alcaraz revealed he saw a bit of Fonseca’s dismantling of Rublev, and he believes the Brazil no.3 will be among the best players in grand slam tennis soon.
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“What can I say about [Fonseca]? Just incredible,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference.
“I mean, the way he played his first grand slam match against his first top 10, it’s unbelievable. The way he approach the match, the way he handle everything, the nerves, the match in general, it’s been fantastic.
“It’s someone that I have to be care of, let’s say. I have to see him. He’s going to be there. Is just the beginning of the year, just one win in grand slam, but he’s going to be there.
“We’re going to put the Joao Fonseca’s name on the list of the best players in the world really soon.”
Fonseca will have a tricky match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the second round at Melbourne Park as he attempts to win a major as a teenager – a feat achieved by Alcaraz.
In 2022, Alcaraz won his first major title at the US Open when he was 19 years old and then subsequently became the youngest world no.1.
He has since won three more grand slam titles including Wimbledon (2023, 2024) and French Open (2024).
