Who is Joao Fonseca? 18-year-old Brazilian wonderkid stuns Andrey Rublev at Australian Open

Qualifier Joao Fonseca stunned ninth seed Andey Rublev on his grand slam debut at the Australian Open to extend his winning streak to 14 matches.

The 18-year-old Brazilian, who is quickly becoming a superstar in his home country, won the ATP’s NextGen Finals in December to follow in the footsteps of grand slam champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

He then backed it up by winning the Challenger in Canberra at the start of the year and progressing through three rounds of qualifying at the Australian Open.

Fonseca was tipped as one to watch in Melbourne but he has now claimed the victory of his life by beating three-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Rublev in straight-sets.

“Not bad, huh,” an emotional Fonseca said in his on-court interview on the Margaret Court Arena after the 7-6 6-3 7-6 win.

“I just enjoyed every moment on court, it’s my first time playing in a huge stadium, my first time playing in a grand slam, so I just enjoyed playing.

“I really want to thank this amazing crowd. There are a lot of Brazilians here, and I want to thank you a lot.

“I was focusing on my game, trying to put no pressure on myself while playing against a top-10 guy in a huge stadium. I was just playing my game and now we’re in the second round.”

Fonseca, who has an explosive forehand and all-court game, played impressively in both tiebreaks - particularly during the tension of the third-set decider.

“I just tried to put all the intensity into the important wins. That’s one thing about myself, on the important points, I play better. That was the difference today.”

Fonseca also quoted Roger Federer when he was asked about his natural talent, replying: “Like Roger says, ‘Talent is not enough without hard work. I put a lot of work in. That’s it.”

The World No 112 later explained in his post-match press conference that Federer was his tennis idol when growing up in Rio, with Fonseca even trying to copy his one-handed backhand.

“My idol always was always Roger. I grew up watching Roger. Of course, I think everyone wanted to play like him.

“When I was younger, the one-handed backhand. I tried it for, like, one week, and then I have something in my elbow, and then I forgot.”

Fonseca also said Brazilian tennis legend Gustavo “Guga“ Kuerten is an inspiration and the 18-year-old wants to pick up the torch left by the former World No 1 and three-time French Open winner.

Brazil have known about Fonseca’s talent known for some time, making his ATP Tour debut at his home tournament in Rio as a 16-year-old wildcard.

Fonseca also got the chance to be a hitting partner for Alcaraz and Sinner ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin after winning the US Open junior title in 2023.

Fonseca was ranked outside the top 700 a year ago but reached the quarter-finals of the Rio tournament aged 17 a few months later.

Fonseca then claimed the biggest title of his career at the NextGen Finals in Saudi Arabia, triumphing against the best teengers in the world.

It’s a tournament previously won by the likes of Alcaraz in 2021 and Sinner in 2019, as well as Stefanos Tstispas in 2018.

In fact, Fonseca became the youngest ATP NextGen champion since Sinner’s triumph five years ago and the Brazilian has a similar game style to the current World No 1.

He arrived at Australian Open qualifying looking to reach his first grand slam main draw, only to continue his winning streak and reach the second round with the upset of the tournament so far.

But he is not done there: “I think when I arrived here, my first goal was to qualify for the main draw,” Fonseca said. “Of course, my expectations are bigger now. I want more and more.”

“I'm very happy with the way that I played today with the win, but I already think about the next match. It's going to be a good one against a very great player [Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego].

“I want more and more. I think that's the mentality of the champion. So I'm just trying to think about the next match.”