Teenage Prodigy Fonseca Makes More History In Buenos Aires By Reaching Final
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Joao Fonseca was able to extend his incredible run at the 2025 Argentina Open in Buenos Aires by reaching the final.
Fonseca made history already by winning his quarter-final match. He became the first player born in 2006 to reach an ATP semi-final and also the youngest Brazilian to do it in the Open Era.
In his semi-final match against Laslo Djere, the 18-year-old player had a chance to rewrite even more history books. After his quarter-final win, Fonseca admitted that he was tired, and the start of this match certainly made him tired as well.
Players battled for every game, with three of the first six games going through multiple deuces. Both also had multiple break point chances, but none of that mattered because the score was tied at 3-3.
At 4-4, Fonseca had two more chances to break, but Djere held once again. After three consecutive holds to love after that, a tie-break had to decide the first set of this match.
The teenager played the tie-break almost flawlessly. He built a massive 6-1 lead, and after converting his third set point, Fonseca won the first set of this match 7-3.
The Brazilian player had the first break point also in the second set, but he couldn't use his chance again. But a couple of games later, Fonseca broke his opponent's serve and led 5-3.
Thanks to that, he served for the match but was broken. Fonseca also had a match point in the following game, but he just didn't handle the end of the second set well and lost it 5-7.
The Brazilian teenager was certainly disappointed by how the second set ended. He led 5-3 and even had a match point, but suddenly, he had to fight for the match in the third set.
That probably got to him in the first few rallies, as he fell behind 15-40 on his serve. However, Fonseca was able to save those break points, and maybe also that inspired him to a great performance in the third set.
From that point, the 18-year-old player dominated the play, and after two hours and 37 minutes, he won the match 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1, to reach his first ATP final.
Of course, he became the first player born in 2006 to do so, and he also became the youngest player to reach an ATP final since Carlos Alcaraz did it in 2021 at the Croatia Open in Umag.
Fonseca also joined an incredible list of 18-year-old ATP finalists, joining the likes of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. He even surpassed Roger Federer by one month.
Fonseca will now play against the winner of the match between Francisco Cerundolo and Pedro Martinez in the final, and after the semi-final match, he couldn't hide how happy he was.
"Very special. Today was really difficult against a very good player. He went to college so he’s playing amazing tennis. We already knew how Laslo could play. He’s won an ATP 500. I played my best. Today was with my heart. Today was with pain. We got through. We’re in the final. There’s one more to go. Let’s go for it."
