Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old born in Rio de Janeiro who started his journey as a professional tennis player this year, talked about many topics in his last interview with Clay; from his childhood idol Roger Federer to the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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Last week, Joao showed off his skills in the Davis Cup, where he collected the first two historic singles successes in the competition, beating Botic van de Zandschulp and Raphael Collignon. In the exclusive interview given to Tennis World, Fonseca had already spoken about his strong ambitions and the comparison with Jannik Sinner.
Speaking to Clay, the Brazilian went into more detail.
"There are a lot of expectations on me, but I just try to stay focused as much as possible on my routine.
It's difficult, but I'm focused on tennis. Not on sponsorships or money. Others take care of those things. With tennis, results and money will come," he said.
Major agencies like IMG and Team8 approached him to work with him, but it wasn't the right time yet.
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"I talked about it with my parents and my coach. I never thought much about fame. I've always been very dedicated, I want to play tennis and be a champion," Fonseca said before spending words of great admiration towards Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz: "I follow their rivalry, and that's where I want to be. I want to be like them. I want to win the big matches and the Grand Slams. Alcaraz and Sinner are an inspiration and motivation to keep working harder and harder. Sometimes I think it will be nice to get into the top 100 or 50, but in reality I want to get to the top. I see the rivalry between Jannik and Carlos and I would like to get to that level. I think and sometimes they tell me that I should aim for the Top 100 or Top 50 but the reality is that I aim to be like them, I want to win Slams and big tournaments. They are a motivation and I train hard to get to that level."
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Fonseca was recently signed by ON, a brand that features tennis legend Federer among its main protagonists.
"I haven't met Roger yet but he sent me a video after winning the US Open juniors and he's already spoken to my father. He's been my idol since I was a child, I like his elegant style and when I meet him I'd like to know all his stories, especially from when he was young. They tell me he wasn't very hard-working during his childhood, I'd be curious to talk to him and hear his stories," he added.
