Olé: Fonseca Puts Team World on the Board

The future of the sport was very much on display on Friday night at the Laver Cup in San Francisco, where 19-year-old Brazilian sensation João Fonseca defeated 23-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli, 6-4, 6-3, narrowing Team Europe’s advantage to 2-1.

These Laver Cup debutants had met just once before, with Cobolli saving match points in a two-hour, 44-minute 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-6(8) opening-round decision on grass this summer in Halle.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult match, and I knew how important it was. I’m happy with the way I was able to manage to stay positive during the match,” said Fonseca. “I like to play aggressive, so I wanted to suffocate him, as we say in tennis, not let him breathe, don’t give him space.”

As is usually the case, a host of vociferous Brazilians were in the Chase Center seats to back Fonseca, the second youngest player in Laver Cup history behind only Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, who debuted at 18. With their man down an early break, they all but willed him back into the opening set. With the 25th-ranked Cobolli serving to stay in the stanza at 4-5, 30-40, he would dump a backhand approach into the net to surrender the set.

Fonseca, the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champ, flashed his slap-forehand power in breaking for 3-1 and 4-2 in the second set, consolidating on his second opportunity.

Perched at a career-high No. 42, Fonseca captured his maiden ATP title earlier this year in Buenos Aires, becoming the youngest South American tour-level champion since Guillermo Perez Roldan in 1987, and youngest Brazilian champion in the Open Era. Now he is the youngest man to win a match in Laver Cup play.

Reminded that he was born 12 days before his Team World captain Andre Agassi retired at the US Open, Fonseca said, “We actually joke about it. He said, ‘I retired in 2006.’ I said, ‘I was born in 2006.’ He said, ‘Thanks, man, thanks.’ I’m just thankful to him and [vice-captain] Pat [Rafter] for this week, helping me gain more experience.”

The former No. 1 Rafter was quick with the superlatives when describing Fonseca after the victory.

“Incredibly mature, very good tennis brain, he’s calm, he’s open to suggestion, he’s open to learning, he’s quick to respond, quick to learn,” said the 1997 and 1998 US Open champion. “You can see what he’ll need to take forward. Next year this time, he’ll be a great player. In two years’ time, I think he’ll be exceptional because he has the ability to learn. He wants to keep improving his game. We just saw what he can do out there, but he’s not there yet. What I saw today was maturity.”