After pausing his season, João Fonseca is starting to make waves on the ATP Tour. The 19-year-old Brazilian missed the Asian pace but has emerged in Europe in scintillating form.
He became the first Brazilian to reach an ATP final on Saturday in St. Jakobshalle in Basel, defeating Jaume Munar of Spain, 7-6(4), 7-5. Fonseca, up 24-15 on the season, is also the youngest player to reach the Basel final since Goran Ivanisevic in 1990.
“Let’s stay hyped for the final,” Fonseca said.
The 19-year-old Fonseca hit 27 winners in the first set, 40 in total, and committed just 18 unforced errors as he cruised to a hard-fought victory in one hour and 55 minutes.
“I knew it would be a difficult match,” said Fonseca. “Jaume is playing well on this surface. He’s coming to the net very well and he’s putting a lot of pressure. I have to defend most of the time and I don’t like playing those guys because I like to play aggressively and go for the winners.
“It was a mix of defense and attack during this match … I just managed to stay on my serve and take advantage of the opportunities I had.”
There were no break points in an entertaining opening set, and only two games (both on Munari’s serve) saw Fonseca go within a goal. In the second set, the Spaniard raced to a 3-1 advantage, but then lost six of the last eight games against the surging Brazilian.
“Happy to hang in there mentally after an early break in the second set,” Fonseca said. “I’m very happy with this match (and with my) good mentality.”
Fonseca was down just one break and won 85 percent of his first serve points, with eight aces. The Brazilian phenom is up to career number 34 in the live rankings – he will face either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Ugo Humbert in the final.
42nd-ranked Munar was also superb, pressuring Fonseca throughout. He hit 32 winners against 22 unforced errors and will move up to career No. 36 in the ATP rankings on Monday, beating his previous career high of No. 37.
