Joao Fonseca is now one of the brightest young talents in professional tennis.
Since winning the ATP Next Gen Finals in December, the Brazilian has been going from strength to strength.
He claimed his first top 10 win by beating Andrey Rublev on his main draw Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open.
A month later, Fonseca won his first ATP Title and he is hungry for more success this year, but he will be pushed hard by another young player who is showing great potential.
Joao Fonseca tips Learner Tien to be America’s next top tennis talent
Joao Fonseca has yet to produce many rivalries on the ATP Tour given he is into just his second season.
But there is another youngster who has made an impression on tour this year, and that is Learner Tien, who Fonseca expects big things from.
“I mean, playing with the top players, you kind of know where your level is. I really see that I’m the right way, I’m the right path, playing some good matches against top, top players,” he said.
“There is where I want to be. Happy the way I played those matches. Against Ugo, against Learner. There [Tien] is the next promise, the next American promise. He’s playing some good tennis.”
The 19-year-old is from the Untied States and like Fonseca, he has made a strong start to life on the ATP Tour. As the Brazilian did, Tien announced himself with a run to the last 16 at the Australian Open, beating three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the process.
He also reached the quarter-finals at the Mexican Open and it remains to be seen what Tien will achieve during the clay court season.
He has played three matches against Fonseca so far, and the Argentine Open champion has triumphed on each occasion.
The pair competed twice at the ATP Next gen Finals, and in the opening round of the Miami Open, where Fonseca beat Tien 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Joao Fonseca thanks the Miami Open crowds after his exit
After beating Tien, Fonseca defeated Ugo Humbert before he took on Alex de Minaur.
He made a solid start when he took the first set. But the World number 11 fought back and used his experience to complete a 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory.
The 18-year-old experienced great support from the crowds throughout the tournament and he took time to praise the spectators who came out to watch him.
“I mean, the first impression here is just that I felt like I was in Brazil,” Fonseca said. “I mean, not only the crowd, but, like, the organization treated me like I was in Brazil. So it was super cool.
“I really like the tournament. Probably one of my favorite tournaments now. So yeah, I knew it was going to be crowded, but I didn’t know it was going to be, like, huge. Yeah, it was super nice being here.”
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