Joao Fonseca Reveals Main Goal for 2026 Australian Open After Lifting Career’s Biggest Title
Joao Fonseca took a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after beating him in the Swiss Indoors final.
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Joao Fonseca (Image via ATP/X)
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Joao Fonseca is happy with the decisions he and his team have made for this year. He played every Grand Slam main draw match and has lifted a couple of tour-level titles.
His career’s first tour-level win came at the Argentina Open, where he defeated home favorite Francisco Cerundolo. After several first-round exits in the next ATP events, Fonseca arrived at the Swiss Indoors, an ATP 500 tournament where his idol, Roger Federer, lifted the title a record 10 times. The Brazilian youngster ended the tournament in his favor by going past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, winning his career’s biggest title.
Fonseca is in Paris, preparing to make his debut at the final Masters 1000 of the season. The 19-year-old, following his Swiss Indoors win, said at the press conference that his next main goal is to be seeded in next year’s Australian Open.
Everything we’ve done this year has been carefully planned, down to the last detail, with a very well-structured start to the year. I didn’t play the Masters 1000 in Shanghai because we prioritized my well-being. At the beginning of the season, the goal was to play in all the Grand Slams. We adapted my goals as the season progressed. I told my coach I wanted to be seeded at the next Australian Open.
Fonseca made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open after playing the qualifying rounds. His campaign ended with a five-set defeat to Lorenzo Sonego.
At the French Open, Fonseca did not have to play the qualifying rounds. He reached the third round and suffered a straight-set exit at the hands of Jack Draper.
At Wimbledon, Nicolas Jarry knocked him out in four sets in the third round, while at the US Open, Tomas Machac eliminated him in straight sets in the second round.
Joao Fonseca reflects on a special week after Swiss Indoors win
En route to his Swiss Indoors win, Joao Fonseca completed only three matches thanks to the withdrawal of Jakub Mensik in the fourth round and the mid-match retirement of Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals. In his first round, he knocked out big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while in the semifinals, Jaume Munar was his opponent. At the press conference after his win, the 19-year-old reflected on his campaign in Basel.
This week is very special for me, even though I didn’t play in the second round due to my opponent’s withdrawal and Shapovalov’s retirement in the quarterfinals. It was a very positive week: I took advantage of the opportunities that came my way. I didn’t let my opponents take this title away from me; my team and I truly wanted it.
At the Paris Masters, Fonseca will kick-start his campaign against Shapovalov. It will be their second career meeting.
Shapovalov has never won a Masters 1000 title, but he is a former runner-up in Paris. It was seven-time Paris Masters champion Novak Djokovic who denied him the win in the final in 2019. This year, Shapovalov failed to progress beyond the third round of the previous eight Masters 1000s he played.
The 26-year-old, who made his Paris Masters debut in 2017, will be making his fifth appearance in the tournament. He skipped the event in 2023 and 2024.
Fonseca, on the other hand, missed only two Masters 1000 events this year (Monte Carlo Masters and Shanghai Masters). He also did not progress beyond the third round of a tournament of this level. Fonseca made his Masters 1000 debut at last year’s Madrid Open, where he reached the second round.
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