"I don't believe it right away either" - Andy Roddick shocked at Joao Fonseca being listed as a favorite to win Roland Garros
ATP
Brazilian wonderkid Joao Fonseca has been touted as one of the future stars on the ATP Tour. However, former World No.1 Andy Roddick would like people to pump the brakes and lower expectations when dealing with the rising youngster.
The 18-year old jumped into the spotlight after winning the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah last year, and announced his arrival when he defeated former World No.5 Andrey Rublev in the opening round of the 2025 Australian Open a few weeks later. Fonseca has since made several appearances on tour, winning his maiden title at the Argentina Open soon after his breakthrough in Melbourne.
Being a title favorite in Paris was a surprise, says Roddick
Heading into the 2025 Roland Garros tournament, there were a handful of players whom many believed could realistically lift the trophy. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was the favorite to retain his title. World No.1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic had good odds to win, but to the surprise of Roddick, Fonseca was listed among the top five contenders to win the Parisian Grand Slam.
“Before Roland Garros, he had lost three consecutive first rounds, including one as a challenger, and here we are in his first round match, and we are told that he is a top-five contender for the title," said Roddick on an episode of his Served podcast. "I wondered what on this planet was going on. Also, he draws huge crowds. That doesn't automatically accelerate the learning curve for him because people are interested in him.
"There's a clear difference between popularity and the fact that he's going to be a great player. I accept the hype, don't I? I don't believe it right away either. I mean, you have to take your time to think."
"There's a clear difference between popularity and the fact that he's going to be a great player. I accept the hype, don't I? I don't believe it right away either. I mean, you have to take your time to think."
The Brazilian youngster will look forward to the North American hard court summer, after falling to Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the third round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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