Joao Fonseca continued his impressive rise on Sunday at Swiss Indoors Basel, where he won his second title at tour level and first at ATP 500 level, inflicting further heartbreak on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The 19-year-old played fearlessly in the biggest match of his life, securing a 6-3, 6-4 victory in Basel against Davidovich Fokina, who has an 0-5 record in tour-level finals.
Fonseca is the first Brazilian to win a title above the ATP 250 level since Gustavo Kuerten captured the ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati in 2001, while he is the third-youngest player to win an ATP 500 title since the series’ inception in 2009.
“It’s crazy. I want to thank my family and my coaches who helped me achieve this great achievement,” Fonseca said. “My parents just came from Brazil. They came to Paris and changed their flight and came here an hour before the match with my uncles. It’s just great to have them here for the biggest title of my career. It’s a pleasure to play this sport and this tournament and I’m very happy.”
Fonseca’s victory in Switzerland marks the latest breakthrough moment in his blossoming early career. The 19-year-old won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title in Jeddah last December and then claimed his first Top 10 victory at the Australian Open, where he defeated Andrey Rublev.
Title success followed at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, where he became the youngest South American champion in the ATP Tour Era (since 1990). Fonseca will rise to No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday following his latest win, having started the year at No. 145.
“They were the ones who believed in me,” Fonseca said when asked about his parents. “I was thinking about going to college and they said it was my choice and that they would be there to support me. I just want to thank them. Since I was young, my mother traveled with me. Since I was 11, I traveled alone with her, so that title belongs to her.”
In a high-quality performance, Fonseca hit 15 winners in the first set, rushing Davidovich Fokina, who struggled to deal with the Brazilian’s power. The 19-year-old stood close to the baseline to dictate and took the lead on his fourth set point. Fonseca continued to pile on the pressure in the second set, closing out serve after failing to convert a championship point when returning at 5-3. The 19-year-old leads the Spaniard 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series after his 86-minute victory.
Davidovich Fokina has now lost four finals in 2025 and five in total. He dropped two championship points against Miomir Kecmanovic in Delray Beach and then three against Alex de Minaur in Washington. The 26-year-old also fell prey to Tomas Machac in the title match in Acapulco.
Despite his latest heartbreak, the Spaniard is ranked No. 15 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is set to hit a career high on Monday.
Did you know?
Fonseca is the second-youngest champion in tournament history, after Jim Courier, 19, in 1989.
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