Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca continued his fairytale run at the Argentina Open, becoming the youngest clay-court finalist since Carlos Alcaraz in 2021 after a thrilling 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-1 semi-final victory over Laslo Djere on Saturday.
The 18-year-old showed remarkable composure, recovering after missing a match point in the second set to dominate the decider.
“Really special. Today was really difficult, against a really good player,” said Fonseca. “I played with my heart. I played with pain. And we got through. There is one match to go, so let’s go for it.”
Fonseca’s dream debut final comes after a grueling quarter-final where he saved two match points to defeat Mariano Navone in a near three-hour battle.
The world No. 99 now faces fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo, who stunned world No. 2 Alexander Zverev before defeating Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-4 in the semis.
A win on Sunday would see Fonseca match Alcaraz’s feat, who also claimed his first ATP title at 18 on clay in Umag, 2021.
