'Hopefully I can play with them': Joao Fonseca sets sights on Alcaraz-Sinner level

The Brazilian received a wildcard for the ATP 500 Halle Open, which will be a good opportunity to gain points – and experience – on grass courts. The Brazilian will play Wimbledon for the first time in his career in a couple of weeks, with high expectations of continuing to surprise on the tour.

Upon his arrival in Halle, Fonseca was asked if he watched the French Open final, and the Brazilian expressed his admiration for his colleagues. "I like to watch a lot of them. I watched the final, it was amazing tennis and what these two are doing," he said. "It's good for tennis, so I like to watch how they played, how they managed the important points."

The teenager also spoke about how his perception of watching matches changes when on TV compared to being on court, allowing him to notice different things. Fonseca admitted he hopes to quickly be competing with Alcaraz and Sinner on the big stages.

"It's difficult when I'm watching with my family, it's difficult because they see different things than normal tennis players see, you normally see their posture during the points, if they're positive, if they're negative and it's things that you don't see normally if you're playing against them, but if you see on TV it’s better to see, so it’s nice this stuff."

"I was talking to my coach last week, when it happened so it was good, it’s good for tennis these two and hopefully I can play with them in the future."

Fonseca will have a complicated debut in Halle, facing Italian Flavio Cobolli. It will be his first professional tournament on grass courts, and it remains to be seen how well he can adapt to the surface change.