Barely half an hour after Jannik Sinner won yet another trophy in Vienna some hope emerged in Basel that perhaps there can be another challenger to disrupt the duopoly that the Italian and his Spanish rival, Carlos Alcaraz, have established at the top of men’s tennis.
João Fonseca has long been considered one of the most promising teenagers on the ATP Tour and the 19-year-old Brazilian continued to back up his potential by winning the biggest title — and first ATP 500 crown — of his fledgling career on Sunday. A 6-3, 6-4 win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the Swiss Indoors means he enters the world’s top 30 for the first time.
There is still some way to go before he can creep up behind world No1 Alcaraz and No2 Sinner, but many observers within the sport believe it is only a matter of time. Twenty of his 29 winners against Davidovich Fokina came from his ferocious forehand, which has an average speed of 81mph. Faster than Alcaraz and Sinner, who both sit at about the 78mph mark, it left Davidovich Fokina in awe.
Davidovich Fokina said his opponent can be “the next Djokovic” in challenging the duopoly ruling men’s tennis
GEORGIOS KEFALAS/EPA
“You played unbelievable tennis today,” Davidovich Fokina said during his runner-up speech. “You are the person of this sport and you have a bright future. For sure you are going to be the next Nole [Novak Djokovic] to beat Carlos and Jannik.”
It is quite telling that Davidovich Fokina referenced the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner when they played no part in the tournament in Basel. Having won all eight grand-slam titles between them since the start of 2024 the pair have set a bar that is so far beyond the vast majority of those below them in the rankings.
Alexander Zverev did his best to land a blow on Sinner in the Vienna Open final but fell short once again with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat. The 28-year-old German, yet to win a grand slam, has the misfortune of being the nearly man in two different eras, having gone up against Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer before Alcaraz and Sinner came along.
Sinner’s victory in Austria cemented his fourth title of the year
LISA LEUTNER/REUTERS
The feeling across the tour is that it is going to take someone with a spark to compete with the top two and Fonseca’s game style bodes well in that regard. He is entertaining to watch as someone who is unafraid to be on the front foot, hitting winners at the slightest hint of an opportunity. His body is already well developed, standing tall at 6ft 2ins with a strong physique.
Fonseca, from Rio de Janeiro, also has the benefit of a passionate support which seems to follow him wherever he plays. Brazilian shouts and cheers could be heard in Basel, celebrating the country’s best singles player since Gustavo Kuerten, who reached world No1 in 2000 and won three French Open titles.
There was mild disappointment in some quarters that Fonseca did not go further than the third round of any grand slam this year, but that will eventually come. After starting 2025 with a ranking of No145, he is now up to No28 with the guarantee of a top-32 seeding at January’s Australian Open.
Fonseca enjoys a passionate travelling support from his home country
RICHARD CALLIS/SPORTS PRESS PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
It is also encouraging that Fonseca has won trophies on two different surfaces this season. His first was on clay in Buenos Aires in February, before winning on indoor hard in Basel, where he is the second-youngest champion in the 55-year tournament history, behind a 19-year-old Jim Courier in 1989.
Some of his supporters may be sad, though, to see Fonseca without his curly hair in the coming days after a pledge was made with his coaching team.
“We made the promise that if we won one of these tournaments, we are going to shave my head,” Fonseca revealed during his winner’s speech. “So soon I am not going to be with hair.”
Fonseca then became emotional when he paid tribute to his parents, who had travelled from Brazil to see his latest success from courtside. “My parents believed in me since I was a kid,” he said. “It is a pleasure to be your kid.”
Elsewhere, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool solidified their status as the world’s best doubles pair with a seventh ATP title this year. The Britons, who won Wimbledon in July, added the Vienna Open trophy to their growing collection by seeing off Francisco Cabral and Lucas Miedler 6-1, 7-6 (8-6).