Joao Fonseca of Brazil defeated American Learner Tien to become the second-youngest Next Gen ATP Finals champion.

The 18-year-old athlete, who was the youngest athlete and has the lowest ranking in the competition, defeated his opponent with a performance record of 2-4 4-3 (10-8) 4-0 4-2. 

Fonseca won all five of his matches at the season-ending competition for the top-ranked male players aged 21 and under.

Only Jannik Sinner won the title at a younger age back in 2019. 

Other former champions include world No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz. 

 

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Highlights of the match 

Tien got out to a strong start and won the first set.  However, Fonseca was able to upset his opponent and win the title in the fourth set when he levelled the playing field following a close second set that ended in a lengthy tie-break.

Following his victory, Fonseca admitted: “I was really nervous before the match. I knew it was going to be so difficult.” 

He added: “I played a final against Learner in juniors at the 2023 US Open and I know the way he can play. He is such a nice guy and a great player, so I knew it was going to be difficult, mentally and physically. But I got through.”

Fonseca talked about his desire to follow in Sinner’s footsteps. He was a hitting partner for the Italian at the ATP Finals the previous year, and he said that the Italian persuaded him to become a professional tennis athlete. 

 

Source: BBC