Joao Fonseca explains how his relationship with Taylor Fritz changed after the Laver Cup, ‘he wouldn’t even say hi’

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Joao Fonseca was on the same team as Taylor Fritz for Team World at the Laver Cup earlier this year.

Fonseca made his Laver Cup debut in San Francisco back in September, with the Brazilian teenager being rewarded for his breakout year.

Showcasing his much talked about talent, Fonseca impressed as he beat Flavio Cobolli in his only match at the Laver Cup.

Fonseca’s victory helped Team World win the Laver Cup, but that was not the only thing he gained from the experience.

Joao Fonseca says what his relationship with Taylor Fritz is now like

Fonseca was the youngest member of Team World at 19 years old, and it was the first time he had been surrounded by many of the players on his team including Fritz, Alex de Minaur and Reilly Opelka.

When speaking to ESPN Brazil about his experience of playing at the Laver Cup this year, Fonseca revealed that it enabled him to develop his relationships with players he had previously had little interaction with.

Fonseca particularly highlighted his relationship with Fritz, who he claims would not say a word to him prior to the Laver Cup.

“I’m friends with all the players, we train with all the players,” said Fonseca. “Obviously, there are some who are nicer than others, some that we all enjoy training with more than others, but I get along super well at Laver Cup.

“For me, De Minaur and [Francisco] Cerundolo both of them speak Spanish, so we ended up talking a bit more among ourselves. But the Americans, like Opelka, who I didn’t know that well but became great friends with.

“I didn’t know Fritz so well and we became super close friends. Fritz was a guy who, when I walked past him in the locker room or something, he wouldn’t even say hi. He was much more shy, he didn’t talk to me and man, now after Laver Cup, we talk on WhatsApp.

“He congratulated me after [winning the title in] Basel, so we talk every now and then, and for me it was kind of unexpected, because we had never really talked before and there we ended up becoming really good friends. I had a really great relationship with everyone on the team.”

What Taylor Fritz said about Joao Fonseca that received backlash

Fritz has previously praised Fonseca, but he landed himself in hot water after playing the Brazilian for the first time.

After Fritz beat Fonseca, 6-3 6(5)-7 7-5, en route to winning his fourth title at the Eastbourne International, he made a comment on social media which angered some people.

On an Instagram post of the highlights of his win over Fonseca, Fritz commented, “Commenting this before watching points. Betting this is 80 per cent [Joao] Fonseca highlights, maybe one/two points of me winning,” before adding, “Update: I was right.”

Fritz received a lot of backlash from fans of Fonseca at the time, before he clarified at Wimbledon that he was only joking.

“I want to get my thoughts out, because I’ve thought about this a lot,” Fritz said at Wimbledon. “There are naturally going to be more highlights of players that drive more engagement, and that’s normal, that’s fine.

“I was, when I said that, it was clearly a joke, people thought I was complaining, I’ve had Brazilians telling me I’m a cry baby for the last month, since I said it basically. Trust me, I don’t care about the highlights, it was a joke.”

Fritz and Fonseca have not played against each other since then, but it appears that their relationship has only gone from strength to strength.