Preview Swiss Indoors Basel Final: 19-year-old Joao Fonseca targets first ATP 500 crown against ‘title-hungry’ Davidovich Fokina

Everything is ready for the ATP 500 Swiss Indoors Basel Open final this Sunday, featuring a high-level match between 19-year-old star Joao Fonseca and 27-year-old Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

In a tournament marked by withdrawals from several of its stars—including three retirements in the quarter-finals and another in the semi-finals—the finalists will be the young Brazilian star, who reaches the second final of his career and first ATP 500 final, against the Spaniard Davidovich Fokina, who will have a new opportunity to secure his first ATP-level title.

Perhaps the current player on the Tour who has made the most merit to win an ATP title and has yet to achieve it. The Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has already secured his entry into the Top 15 for the first time in his career by the end of the tournament, but still hasn't managed to secure even one title. This week, he defeated Lorenzo Sonego (7-6, 6-4) and Jenson Brooksby (6-7, 6-4, 7-5). He then benefited from the retirement of Casper Ruud during their quarter-final match (7-6, ret.) and a similar case against Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals (7-6, 3-1, ret.).

The 27-year-old has been more than close to winning a title. He has played four previous finals in his career, three of them this year, and has lost in all of them. He is only the 5th player to reach at least four finals this season, behind Carlos Alcaraz (10), Jannik Sinner (8), Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Alexander Bublik (4).

The Spaniard wasted two match points in his first final of the season at Delray Beach against Miomir Kecmanovic and three other match points at the DC Open against De Minaur (where he was up 5-2 in the third set). However, he has not been able to capitalize on his chances so far and continues his search for his maiden title. Against Fonseca, Davidovich Fokina will play the role of the experienced player.

“Fonseca is very young, he will be one of the best in the world in the future, he has everything, every shot, mentally he is a beast. It will be complicated, seeing him today against Munar was incredible. I want my revenge, I don't want to think about the final, only about my revenge against him. In a few years, it will be more complicated.”

Joao Fonseca has risen as one of the ascending stars over the last year and is quickly looking for his first ATP 500 title—following his first full season on the ATP Tour. The Brazilian continues to mark achievements in his career; since winning the Next Gen ATP Finals title in 2024, he has become a name to be feared among his colleagues.

He started the year barely at No. 112, but is already appearing at No. 34 in the live rankings—with the chance to enter the Top 30 for the first time if he manages to win the title this Sunday. Fonseca already played his first final during the South American Golden swing in February, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the Argentina Open final—his first ATP-level trophy.

After a good season, Fonseca surprisingly decided a month ago to skip the Asian swing, aiming to best prepare for the European indoor tournaments at the end of the year, a formula that brought him success, returning to his second career final and first ATP 500.

This week, he debuted with a win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (7-6, 6-3) and then did not have to step onto the court to advance from the Round of 16—after the withdrawal of the 2025 Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik. In the quarter-finals, he benefited from the retirement of Denis Shapovalov in a tight match (3-6, 6-3, 4-1, ret.), while in the semi-finals, he overcame Jaume Munar without major issues (7-6, 7-5).

It will be a great opportunity for both players who will seek their first ATP 500 title at the Basel Open. They have only one previous meeting on the ATP Tour a couple of months ago in the Cincinnati Open second round, where Davidovich took the lead in the first set, but an injury prevented him from finishing the match, leaving the South American with the victory by retirement (6-7(4), 5-4, ret.).

Fonseca can achieve his first ATP 500 title and second of his career, along with the chance to advance to World No. 28 if he wins the title. In Davidovich's case, it would potentially be his first professional title, after 4 defeats in previous finals. He has already secured his best ranking as World No. 15 by finishing the tournament, although he could climb to 14 if he secures the title.