Brazil's Fonseca eyes silverware after surging into Wimbledon quarters
Brazil’s Joao Fonseca did exceptionally well during a recent social media quiz where he was challenged to pronounce obscure London landmarks. Little wonder, he is very much at home here.
Fonseca surged into the quarter-finals of the Junior Championships, Wimbledon, where he will face Henry Searle of Great Britain, after defeating Rei Sakamoto of Japan 6-3 6-4 to equal his previous best Junior Grand Slam showing.
He also reached the last eight at the Australian Open in January and last month’s Roland Garros, while he spearheaded the Brazil team which were crowned Davis Cup Juniors for the first time in their nation’s history in November 2022.
His run to the last-eight at Wimbledon follows last week’s triumph at J300 Roehampton, the traditional grass-court warm-up event for the Junior Championships, which represented the best singles title of the 16-year-old’s fledgling career.
Fonseca celebrated that victory at the Japanese restaurant Sticks ‘n’ Sushi with his parents and coaches, and while there is a long way to go before any restaurants can be booked for a post-Wimbledon celebration, the desire for further silverware is clear.
“I have reached the quarter-finals of Junior Grand Slams before but I feel it is now time to push and go further,” Fonseca tells itftennis.com. “I am feeling confident and in a good place mentally and physically. There is no better time to do something than now.
“Grass is not my favourite surface, but I feel comfortable here. Wimbledon is, however, my favourite tournament and I am playing well, so everything feels amazing at the moment and I am very confident.
“How I play suits grass. I play aggressively while before Wimbledon I practiced a lot of volleys. I am also serving well and returning well, while I am going to the net as much as I can. I am playing a British guy tomorrow so it will be tough but, as always, I will try my best.”
Incidentally, only one of the last 10 boys – compared to seven of the last 10 girls – has proceeded to top the Wimbledon podium after conquering all before them at J300 Roehampton. That was Denis Shapovalov in 2016.
Trends, however, are there to be bucked. Over to you, Joao.