Joao Fonseca’s maiden title win in Buenos Aires made waves more than 1,600 miles away in Rio.
The 18-year-old rising star defeated Francisco Cerundolo to lift his first ATP Tour title at the Argentina Open on Sunday night.
Brazilian tennis fans who were watching qualifying at the Rio Open had been keeping up with Fonseca’s final. When he won, their celebrations interrupted a qualifying match involving Cerundolo’s brother, Juan Manuel.
Fonseca has been enjoying a breakout few months. He ended 2024 by lifting the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy and started the season by winning the Canberra Challenger.
The Brazilian also qualified for his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open and stunned ninth seed Rublev. Now, he’s won his first ATP Tour title.
The teenager stormed through the draw in Buenos Aires, beating four Argentines en route to the title. Fonseca capped off a stellar week by beating No. 5 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 7-6(1) in the championship match.
Francisco is the older brother of Juan Manuel Cerundolo, another ATP player. The brothers even faced off in the second round in Argentina, with Francisco coming out on top.
Juan Manuel is ranked at No. 127, more than 100 spots below Francisco at No. 26. While the elder Cerundolo brother was busy playing the Argentina Open final, Juan Manuel was competing in Rio Open qualifying.
The 23-year-old faced Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the second round of qualies on Sunday at the same time Francisco was playing Fonseca.
And Fonseca’s win made it to Rio. Fans in the stands for Juan Manuel’s showdown with Faria erupted into cheers when they learned their man had won his maiden title in Buenos Aires, briefly disrupting the qualifying match.
It was especially awkward for Juan Manuel, who would have been aware that the celebrations meant his brother had lost.
The 23-year-old quickly got broken but came out on top, beating Faria 5-7 6-4 6-4 to advance to the final round of qualifying.
Back in Buenos Aires, there were also plenty of Brazilian fans who had made the trip to cheer Fonseca on from the stands.
After clinching his first title, the 18-year-old said: “Unbelievable week, even in Argentina there are some Brazilians cheering for me.
“That’s just amazing. Every Brazilian, everyone from their country wants this support from your own country. For me, this [moment] that I’m living is just unbelievable.”
Fonseca is now up to a career-high ranking of No. 68 and he will head home to Brazil for the Rio Open, competing on home soil for the first time since becoming an official tour champion.
