How does Joao Fonseca compare at 18 to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?

Remember the name: Joao Fonseca.
The rising star hit new heights at the Australian Open on Tuesday, stunning ninth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(1), 6-3, 7-6(5) in an exhilarating display of aggressive tennis inside the Margaret Court Arena.
Fonseca’s recent rise has been staggering and he has repeatedly drawn comparisons with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the current reigning Grand Slam champions.
The Brazilian has previously expressed his desire to challenge Sinner and Alcaraz in the future – but how does he compare to the two leading stars when they were 18?
Next Gen ATP Finals Success
Until now, the biggest moment of Fonseca’s senior career was his Next Gen ATP Finals triumph last month, with the Brazilian winning all five of his matches despite being the lowest-ranked player.
In winning the title he matched both Sinner and Alcaraz, who triumphed in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
Interestingly enough, the trio are the only players to have so far won the event as teenagers – with all three aged 18 at the time of their success.
Current ATP world No 1 Sinner remains the youngest champion at 18 years and two months, with Fonseca not far behind at 18 years and four months.
Alcaraz was 18 years and six months when he won the title in 2021, with the next youngest winner being a 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018.
Grand Slam Main Draw debut
Fonseca is making his first Grand Slam main draw appearance in Melbourne, having previously lost in Wimbledon and US Open qualifying last summer.
Aged 18 years and four months, he is marginally older than both Sinner and Alcaraz were when they played a major main draw match for the first time – though there is not too much to pick between them.
Alcaraz was the youngest to play a Grand Slam main draw for the first time, coming through Australian Open qualifying aged 17 years and eight months in 2021 – ultimately reaching the second round.
Sinner made his main draw debut as a qualifier at the 2019 US Open, just weeks after turning 18, having previously lost in Wimbledon qualifying.
The Italian was beaten in four sets in the opening round by former champion and 23rd seed Stan Wawrinka.
Australian Open News
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ATP Titles
Fonseca is yet to win an official ATP Tour title, though a first tour victory does not seem too far away.
If he continues his current momentum, it seems highly plausible that he could be younger than Sinner when the Italian won his first tour title.
Sinner was 19 years and two months old when he won the Sofia Open in November 2020, though the COVID-19 suspension may have prevented him from winning a title sooner.
However, Alcaraz remains the youngest of the three to win a title.
The Spaniard was just 18 years and two months old when he triumphed in Umag in July 2021, the first of 16 tour titles to date.
Top 100 Breakthrough
With his win over Rublev, Fonseca has provisionally broken into the top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time – with the Brazilian up to 98th in the ATP Live Rankings.
He will be 18 years and five months old when the rankings update post-Australian Open, making him marginally older than Sinner was when he broke through.
The Italian was 18 years and two months old when he broke into the top 100 in October 2019; he was the world No 1 less than five years later.
Incredibly, Alcaraz broke into the top 100 just weeks after his 18th birthday in May 2021 and would be the world No 1 just 16 months later in September 2022.
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