‘I’ve been told I’ll be as good as Alcaraz and Sinner – now I want to be world No. 1’ | Tennis | Sport

Joao Fonseca has long been touted as the likely ‘third man’ who will join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the top of the game. The Brazilian teenager burst onto the scene at the beginning of last year and now has two titles under his belt. Fonseca finally had a chance to test himself against Sinner and Alcaraz last month, facing them in Indian Wells and Miami, respectively.

While he lost both matches, Fonseca left an impression on both champions and managed to test himself against the two best players in the world right now. He then got the chance to face world No. 3 Alexander Zverev at the Monte Carlo Masters, pushing him to a third set but losing in the quarter-finals. Now, the 19-year-old has set his sights on following in Alcaraz and Sinner’s footsteps and becoming the world No. 1.

However, the current No. 40 knows he has a way to go before he reaches his peak, and doesn’t want anyone to rush him with their expectations. “I played both of them, and it was good matches, but I’m not close yet,” Fonseca admitted.

“I hope in the future, soon, I’ll be. I’ll say it was close matches, but they play like this, like, every match. They play this level every match, and I need to be more consistent. I need to work harder. But yeah, I think I’m on the right path. I think I’m [going] the right way.

“Everyone has their time. My time will come. I’m doing great, so yeah, keep with this routine, keep with this mentality to work quietly and hard. But yeah, I think the expectations are going to come. People see young players doing great things, and they pull us into the top of the rankings. People need time. Everyone has their own time, so I want to do my history.”

Although Fonseca wants the tennis world to pump the brakes on their predictions for him, the teenager also hopes he can reach the top of the game. “I hope I’ll be there competing against them, but people need to understand that I need time to become what they want me to do and I want to become,” he added.

“I want to become No. 1, but I know I need to take time. I’m still 40 in the world, so I need to be humble to understand this. Yeah, I think hopefully I can have a bright future ahead.”

Fonseca is still enjoying some firsts on the tennis tour and made his debut at the Monte Carlo Masters this week. He’s already loving the Principality, and after his first-round win, he said: “It’s just a special tournament. We can see so many good players have won here.

“I mean, Nadal winning, I don’t know how many times in a row! It’s a tournament that I have been watching a lot and I wanted to come so much. I knew it was a cool city, and I like cars! So there was two days I was watching some cars. It’s just a cool city, cool place, so very happy to get my first win here.”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page