Andy Roddick perplexed by fan support for rising star Joao Fonseca - "It's not as if he made the semis of a slam"

Brazilian wonderkid Joao Fonseca has been the breakthrough star of the 2025 ATP season, with former World No.1 Andy Roddick surprised at the youngsters rapid popularity among fans.

Fonseca won the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals last year in Jeddah, upsetting the likes of Arthur Fils and Jakub Mensik. The 18-year old would announce his arrival on the main tour at the 2025 Australian Open, where he defeated ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round. Subsequently, Fonseca would win his maiden ATP title at the Argentina Open, with several in the tennis community labeling him as a future superstar.

In an episode of his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the retired American shared his thoughts on Fonseca's win at the Argentina Open.

"In Buenos Aires, Joao Fonseca won the first of many titles,” said the 2003 US Open champion. “It’s strange to see the way the entire country of Brazil is already on board with this kid that is like 80 or 75 in the world, it’s not as if he made the semis of a Slam, it’s not as if he made the finals of a Masters 1000, this is a 250.
"It seems like the hype train has fully left the station, I love the way he plays, there are a lot of things I like."

Roddick's co-host, Jon Wertheim, pointed out why Fonseca was viewed as a future superstar by several in the tennis community.

"[Joao] Fonseca, what I love about him, in this era we live in of big data, this is all about the eye test isn’t it,” said Wertheim. “People just watch this kid play and they say, holy hell is this a future champion.
“One thing I like, is watch the opponents when he beats them. He beat [Andrey] Rublev the first round of Australia, as you predicted, Rublev did not have this look on his face of I just lost to a teenager I’m going to go hide, it was more like damn, this guy is really good, he’s a future star we’re watching.
"I think everybody who knows tennis watches his shot-making, watches his power, forehand, he’s got the [Carlos] Alcaraz thing, where there’s a nice little drop shot to level that power. People just look at him and go holy hell, this guy is a future champion and the eyes don’t lie."