Australian Open 2025: Wow Joao Fonseca – here’s the next big thing

I clocked off work on Tuesday night to watch Joao Fonseca obliterate Andrey Rublev. Let me tell you something, folks. You’ve gotta watch Fonseca.

Brazilian Joao Fonseca just might be the next superstar in tennis.

Fonseca, Fonseca, Fonseca. You’ve gotta watch Fonseca. It’s all I kept hearing. Fonseca’s a freak. Fonseca’ll be in the next Big Three. I clocked off work and grabbed a cold one late on Tuesday night to watch Joao Fonseca obliterate Andrey Rublev. Let me tell you something, folks. You’ve gotta watch Fonseca.

He’s an 18-year-old Brazilian. Built like a brick outhouse. World No.9 Rublev manhandles most foes. Fonseca blew him to smithereens. His basic philosophy, while strutting around like Michael Hutchence on stage for INXS, or like Brazilian blokes in their budgie smugglers on the beach at Copacabana, is to go big, and if that doesn’t work, go bigger.

There were flashbacks to Boris Becker’s arrival on the scene as a teenage Wimbledon champion in 1985. He plays Italian Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday. Trust me, you’ve gotta watch Fonseca.

Fonseca dismantled a helpless Rublev in straight sets on Tuesday night, with the world taking notice.

We might have just put the kiss of death on him. And yet for a first appearance at a major, it was extraordinary. Nerveless. Fearless. Whipping the heavily Brazilian crowd to a frenzy like he was playing outside Neymar at Maracana Stadium. Fonseca, Fonseca, Fonseca. Wow Fonseca was cooling down in a freezing tub when he checked his phone to see if anyone was offering congratulations.

“I saw my phone when I was in the ice bath, and it was a lot of messages, and I closed it,” he said. “I just tried to message my family, the close ones, and I’m still a little bit cold because of the ice bath, but it’s all just amazing for me, what I did.

“My first win in a grand slam, my first win against a top-10 player, my first time playing in the main draw of a grand slam. Everything’s new for me. I played such a good match. I’m just very happy with myself, very proud of the way that I fought and the way that I stayed mentally on every game and every point. Very happy with myself.”

Fonseca, Fonseca, Fonseca. “Good to see you,” he told the media pack. We’ll drum that out of him soon enough. “I think one-third of the crowd was Brazilian tonight so it really felt like I was at home.

“People cheering for me, calling my name. Just amazing. I love playing with the crowd so for me it was super, super nice. I’m playing great tennis so I need to enjoy this moment, to play my best. Playing good, feeling confident.

“I think we try to continue. That’s what the difference is between the top players. The consistency. I’m trying to improve my consistency. I will try to stay like this.”

Fonseca, Fonseca, Fonseca. Rublev normally greets losses with a dozen smashed racquets, a million swear words in Russian and the sort of emotional meltdown otherwise witnessed in the Royal Tenenbaums. All Rublev could do was smile and say wow and shake hands. Fonseca was too powerful, too energetic, too opportunistic, too good.

“I knew the pressure was coming,” Fonseca said. “Like I said, everything was new for me, but I was not the favourite. I entered the court with just, ‘Okay, I’m an 18-year-old guy, he’s a top-10 guy, I’m going to do my best here.

“Of course, I’m confident and know I can win, but no pressure on myself. Then when I was ahead two sets to love, I was thinking a little bit more, ‘Okay, maybe I’m going to win this match, and I need to focus, and I need to keep pushing. The nerves came but I mentally stayed.”

Rublev had no answers for the qualifier.

Stayed where? Stayed in the moment. Stayed so aggressive he was borderline reckless in his 7-6 (7/1) 6-3 7-6 (7/5) win. His fastest serve was 214km/h. He smoked 51 winners while throwing in 38 unforced errors, but you take that ratio in the way you don’t expect Glenn Maxwell to always come off. He received a rock star’s ovation as he walked off. More! More! More!

Federer, Federer, Federer. That’s who Fonseca tried to model his game on. “My idol always was always Roger,” he says. “I grew up watching Roger and I think everyone wanted to play like him. I even tried, when I was younger, the one-handed backhand. I tried for, like, one week, and then I have something in my elbow, and then I forgot, and I’m going to go two-handed again.

“He inspires me and my expectations are bigger now. I’m already thinking about the next match. It’s going to be a good one against a very great player. More and more and more – I think that’s the mentality of the champion.”