December 22, 2024
Joao Fonseca delivered a semi-final clinic on Saturday evening to continue his charge at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
The 18-year-old Brazilian raced past Luca Van Assche 4-2, 4-2, 4-1 to book his championship-match spot at the 20-and-under event in Jeddah, where he will take on Learner Tien for the trophy on Sunday from 8 p.m. local time (6 p.m. CET/12 p.m. ET).
The No. 145 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fonseca struck the ball with depth and fierce power off both wings to overwhelm Van Assche and become the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history.
“On hard courts, [I’ve never had such a good week],” said Fonseca in his on-court interview. “I’m playing a very high level. I’m just very proud of myself and the way that I’ve been with my routine this week, so focused. With my family here, with my three coaches, it’s really nice and I hope I can go for the title.”
Van Assche was competing in his second-straight semi-final in Jeddah but was unable to stick with Fonseca, who is the second-youngest competitor in Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF history after 2019 champion Jannik Sinner. The Brazilian converted four of 14 break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, while he did not face any on his own serve.
“Today was a great match. I played really solidly,” said Fonseca. “I did what I talked about with my coach. He didn’t have too many chances because I was playing so aggressively and making all the shots. There is one more match to go, and I hope I can for it.”
The one-hour encounter against Van Assche was in stark contrast to Fonseca’s five-set victory against Jakub Mensik 24 hours earlier, when the Brazilian prevailed in five sets that all went to tie-breaks. His group-stage campaign also included the biggest win of his career by PIF ATP Ranking against World No. 20 Arthur Fils.
Fonseca began the week as the lowest seed in an eight-man field but is now the only undefeated player left standing after Tien earlier defeated Alex Michelsen in the opening semi-final of the day. Sunday’s final at King Abdullah Sports City will be the second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting of the week between Fonseca and Tien, after the Brazilian claimed a four-set triumph in the group stage.
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