With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner dominating the men’s tour, attention has naturally turned to who might be next to challenge their duopoly.
After all, they have shared the last seven Grand Slam titles between them and have contested the last two finals too.
It truly feels like, no matter the surface, there is no one who can consistently cause this pair trouble, particularly the world number one.
However, there is a crop of really young talent that has started to burst onto the tour who, if they can continue their trajectory, might not be far away from the pinnacle of the sport.
Of course, Joao Fonseca is chief among those players.
The American teenager who might have more potential than Joao Fonseca
A Brazilian prodigy whose name has been mentioned for years now, it seems strange to think that this sensation is just 18 years old.
Especially when seeing the hordes of fans he brings wherever he plays, with the French Open one particular event which was transformed into a sea of green, yellow and blue.
Admittedly, seeing Fonseca’s forehand up close at the French Open was a thing of beauty.
Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
It is likely this fanfare and impossibly huge following that has seen him capture the interest of many pundits and fellow players, with John McEnroe even branding the teenager ‘the next Carlos Alcaraz’ after his performance in Melbourne earlier this year.
However, for all the acclaim that Fonseca commands, there might even be another teenager from America with as much, if not more potential, who McEnroe has also praised: Learner Tien.
Who is Learner Tien?
Speaking about his compatriot, also back in January, his praise was high: “I think he is going to be a formidable force,” he said.
“He is not a particularly big guy, but he sure takes the ball early and hits a clean ball. I like what I am seeing from Tien right now.”
This came after Tien had beaten Daniil Medvedev in the second round, the first of his four top-ten wins that he has claimed this year alone.
To compare that with Fonseca, he has just one.
Not only that, but the American, who turned 19 in December, is the only one of the two to have reached the second week of a Grand Slam, which he also accomplished in Melbourne.
Tien and Fonseca are certainly the future of tennis, and both deserve to be praised for how they have taken to life on tour already.
However, perhaps the former deserves a little more praise, given how his Brazilian rival has stolen the limelight over the last few months.