Joao Fonseca is on a roll at Roland Garros, where he has knocked out both Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud.
Fonseca is the 28th seed at the clay-court Grand Slam in Paris, where he has battled into the quarterfinals.
He meets 26th seed Jakub Mensik for a semifinal spot at Roland Garros, having just beaten Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6(10-8), 5-7, 6-2.
That arrived immediately after a five-set epic against ATP legend Djokovic, who he defeated 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.
Fonseca has now described what it was like playing against the two superstars, who were both favorites to defeat the Brazilian in the French capital.
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Joao Fonseca compares playing Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud
Ahead of his meeting with Mensik, Fonseca said: “The matches were different against Casper and Djokovic.
“Against Djokovic it was more mental. It was tough in the beginning, the conditions were different, much hotter. Against a guy I respect a lot, I started playing to respect a lot.
“Not that I don’t respect Casper, it’s just that I was feeling more confident in today’s match and more aggressive, going for the shots and trying to command on the point pretty soon.
“It was more like a battle of who is more aggressive in the beginning and who is commanding more on the points.
“I think in the beginning I was putting a lot of pressure on him and especially on the important points I played really well.
“I think they were different matches, but today I played a bit more solid throughout the whole match.”
Fonseca, who is just 19 years old, started his Grand Slam with victories over Luka Pavlovic and Dino Prizmic.
Joao Fonseca inspired by fellow ATP youngsters
Fonseca is enjoying a hugely impressive run at Roland Garros, but he certainly isn’t the only youngster who is catching the eye.
His upcoming opponent Mensik is just 20 years old, while fellow 19-year-old Rafael Jodar has also reached the quarterfinal stage.
Discussing his fellow youngsters shining brightly in Paris, Fonseca said: “It’s great to have new generations.
“Not just Jakub, Jodar and me. But also Learner [Tien], [Alex] Michelsen, [Martin] Landaluce – he did really well.
“We have a good new generation playing really good tennis and it’s good to have them around, pushing me and doing some great battles.”
Who is the most exciting ATP youngster right now?
There are so many to choose from…
It really is an exciting time for the ATP Tour, which is heading for a bright future thanks to the long list of talented youngsters.
However, leading duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz won’t be going away anytime soon, aged just 24 and 23 respectively.
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