By Shrivathsa Sridhar
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Endless queues outside Melbourne Park’s 1573 Arena on a sunny Thursday afternoon gave casual fans the impression that a Grand Slam champion was in action, but a quick peek inside revealed the carnival atmosphere and explained the interest.
Dressed in bright yellow Brazilian jerseys and waving their flags, singing fans were raising the decibel levels as the South American country’s new teenage sensation Joao Fonseca was looking to extend his Australian Open adventure.
The 18-year-old qualifier became the talk of the town after beating ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round on his major debut on Tuesday and dragged experienced Italian Lorenzo Sonego to five sets before losing 6-7(6) 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-3.
“I think after the battle against Rublev, the expectations got bigger. People said a little bit more about Joao,” Fonseca told reporters.
“My expectations were bigger too. I was more nervous than the match against Rublev. I already had a win against Sonego. I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit nervous.
“I think the experience was the big difference today.”
Dominated for more than two decades by the “Big Three” of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, men’s tennis is entering a fresh era with world number one Jannik Sinner and fellow major champion Carlos Alcaraz leading the way.
NEW GENERATION
Even as that young duo lay the groundwork for an enduring rivalry at the top of the game, a new generation looks set to push them hard going by the immense promise Fonseca and his colleagues have shown at the year’s opening Grand Slam.
Czech 19-year-old Jakub Mensik upset sixth seed Casper Ruud on Wednesday to mark the first time two teenagers had beaten top 10 opponents at the same Grand Slam since Djokovic and Andy Murray at Wimbledon in 2006.
“It’s great that there’s a new blood,” Mensik said.
“We can see that tennis is moving on. We can see different or new names in tournaments. For the fans, for the tennis, for everything, it’s really great.”
American Learner Tien can make it three stunning results at the event when the 19-year-old plays fifth seed Daniil Medvedev on Margaret Court Arena later on Thursday.
While the trio have made a name for themselves, it is the mop-haired Fonseca who has really captured the hearts of fans with his fearless approach and affable nature, drawing praise from Djokovic.
It was no surprise that his supporters inside the 3,000 capacity stadium chanted his name to drown out Italian voices as Sonego celebrated victory.
“The Brazilian people, they like to cheer for a promising kid,” said Fonseca, the youngest player in the top 200 at world number 112.
“I don’t know why me. I think people think too much about me. I just want to be me, play tennis and do well.
“It’s my dream to play the tour, where the top 50 players play. The Masters, ATP 500s, 250s … In my opinion, the sky’s the limit. I need to work to reach my dream, which is become number one.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne; Editing by Ken Ferris)
