Joao Fonseca is yet to compete against the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Fonseca has a lot of high expectations on his shoulders, as a former Grand Slam junior champion.
The Brazilian teenager has showcased why there is so much hype around him at points during this year, highlighted by Fonseca’s victory over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open.
There are many questions over who can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz at the top of the ATP Tour, and John Isner has revealed if he thinks Fonseca can be that man.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Getty ImagesJohn Isner says if he thinks Joao Fonseca can reach the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Former top 10 player Isner previously suggested Fonseca can win five major titles in his career, and he has backed his previous claim by suggesting that the Brazilian can challenge Sinner and Alcaraz.
Isner also went on to point out that Sinner has also improved a lot since he was a teenager.
“He’s 18. I remember Sinner at 18 or 19, I think I played him when he was 19. He was not nearly as good as he is now,” Isner said on the Nothing Major podcast. “He has improved so much from then, four years ago, to where he is now.
“I know we pump up Fonseca a lot but for the sake of the health of our sport and I actually do believe this, I am going to say yes, he can catch up to these guys and get to the conversation.
“I am not saying that it’s next year or the year after but in the next four or five years he can be in the conversation where he is one of the top four favourites to win each slam he enters.
“So I am going to say yes but not to the level they are at. I think he can get to the level where he is expected to make the final four.”
However, Isner did admit that he did think it would be a bit of a stretch to suggest that Fonseca can reach the same level as Sinner and Alcaraz just yet.
“Well, not quite. But he’s going to be up there,” added Isner. “It’s hard to say he’s going to be as good as Sinner is in four years but I think he can compete with these guys in four years. He is not going to roll off four Slams in two years, but I think he can win one or two in the span of two or three years.”
Photo by Manuel Cortina/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey followed up by comparing Sinner and Alcaraz to the big three.
Querrey then claimed that Fonseca is more like Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, both of whom won three major titles each.
“I am super pro Fonseca but I think these two are too good and they are separating themselves by the day,” said Querrey. “I see it more as these two, Sinner and Alcaraz, are like Fed, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Fonseca is more like a Murray or a Wawrinka, who maybe gets three to five slams. But I think Sinner and Alcaraz are going to be on an island of their own for the next 15 years.”
What had Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz achieved at 18 years old?
Sinner (23) and Alcaraz (22) are now at the top of the ATP Tour and have shared the last seven Grand Slam titles together.
However, they had very different rises to the top of the sport, with Alcaraz already a top 10 player before turning 19 years old.
Sinner did not win a title until 19 years old, the same age that he would also reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the first time.
Jannik Sinner before turning 19Carlos Alcaraz before turning 19Joao FonsecaCareer-high rankingNo.68 No.9No.48Titles04 (Croatian Open, Rio Open, Miami Open & Barcelona Open)1 (Argentina Open)Best Grand Slam ResultSecond Round (Australian Open 2020)Quarterfinal (US Open 2021)Third Round (Wimbledon 2025)
This should be reassuring for Fonseca, who will celebrate his 19th birthday in August.
Fonseca has already won an ATP title, and is already ahead of where Sinner was at the same age.