"When I was younger, I wore every Federer shirt possible": From idol to On Running backing as Joao Fonseca lauds Roger Federer

Rising tennis star Joao Fonseca has been in the spotlight following his spectacular run at the 2024 Rio Open, and the Brazilian recently spoke on the players he looked up to, highlighting Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer as one of his favorites.

The 17-year was awarded a wildcard entry at last week's Rio Open, making his debut on the main draw of the ATP circuit in front of his home crowd. Fonseca made history as the first ATP player born in 2006 to win an ATP match, defeating Frenchman Arthur Fils and Chilean Christian Garin en route to his maiden quarterfinal appearance on Tour.

In an interview with UOL, the Rio native touched upon various topics, including his childhood and players he loved watching. The World No.343 admitted he was a huge fan of Federer, and often wore the 20-time Grand Slam champion's shirts. Furthermore, he stated he hardly watched tennis matches growing up, and revealed he missed the 2019 Wimbledon final between Federer and Novak Djokovic.

"When I was younger, I wore every Federer shirt possible," disclosed Fonseca. "I was a big fan of him. My family has always been. My mother is a fanatic about him. I wasn’t much of a game watcher. For example, I didn’t watch the [2019] Wimbledon final between Federer and Djokovic. I didn’t like watching tennis. Yes. I regret it a lot, but I didn’t really like watching tennis."