Andre Agassi Impressed by Joao Fonseca’s Game After Watching Him Train at the Laver Cup

Joao Fonseca will be the youngest player to compete at the Laver Cup at just 19 years old.

Andre Agassi Impressed by Joao Fonseca’s Game After Watching Him Train at the Laver Cup

Andre Agassi and Joao Fonseca (via X/Laver Cup)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Andre Agassi has praised Joao Fonseca for his brilliance on the court after watching him closely during Team World’s training session at the Laver Cup in San Francisco. The teenager made the list for Team World after the likes of Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and Frances Tiafoe withdrew due to injury.

Fonseca will become the youngest player to compete in the Laver Cup in its history. The 19-year-old arrived at the tournament just a day after helping Brazil progress to the Davis Cup Finals after beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in their clash. He has also been a bright spark on the court this season.

The Brazilian star claimed his first tour-level title at the Argentina Open after stunning top seed Francisco Cerundolo in the final. Before that, he earned his first top 10 win of the season after beating Andrey Rublev in the opening match of the Australian Open in January. He was meant to make his debut at the Laver Cup last year, but that couldn’t materialize.

He was asked by the then Team World captain, John McEnroe, to participate in the tournament in Berlin in 2024, but at that time, he had just made a few appearances on tour and was ranked outside the Top 100. His team advised him not to go play at the tournament as he wasn’t quite ready for such an illustrious tournament.

But with his experience this season and his good performance he will be one of the players to watch. During an interview with Tennis365, Agassi revealed that Fonseca has proven that he deserves to be at the tournament and he’s not seeking anyone’s validation:

His game is very easy to respect and admire. The sheer power he can generate from both sides of the court, almost effortlessly, he can make the same movement and generate a lot of ball speed without it seeming like he wants to hit harder. His mobility is excellent, but what has impressed me the most when I met him is his mentality. He’s a guy who doesn’t need validation from anyone. He’s not intimidated by the environment, he believes he belongs in these tournaments.

Team World is aiming to win its third Laver Cup in four years. They currently hold a 2-5 head-to-head record against Team Europe. Team Europe won the title last year after Alexander Zverev and World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz helped the team produce a comeback to win 13-11 in Berlin. Both players are in Team Europe for this year’s edition.

Joao Fonseca believes he’s more mature and comfortable playing at the Laver Cup

Joao Fonseca reached the third round of the French Open and Wimbledon Championships this season, his best Grand Slam runs. But it was at the Australian Open that he became popular, after he beat Andrey Rublev in the first round. However, he failed to get to the third round as he lost to Lorenzo Sonego.

Joao Fonseca
Joao Fonseca (via US Open)

During an interview with Sporting News, he revealed that he’s more confident and comfortable competing with the big players at the Laver Cup. The 19-year-old added that he’s also more mature in his game:

I feel more confident, more comfortable to come. Last year, I wasn’t ready for it. I was an 18-year-old guy, not experienced with big stadiums and playing against the big guys. I’m more mature, more experienced in these types of circumstances. I’m not just a promise, I’m more concrete now (with a ranking) in the top 50. It is going to be really cool.

Fonseca has been dubbed the next Roger Federer on tour. He has also been urged to follow the footsteps of Gustavo Kuerten. Kuerten is known as the greatest male player in Brazil’s history. He’s a former World No.1 and lifted three French Open titles as a professional player.

Also Read: Team World Vice-Captain Aims to “Devise a Game Plan” that Will Stop Carlos Alcaraz at the Laver Cup