Brazil’s Fonseca downs Tien, follows Sinner as landmark NextGen champion in Jeddah

Joao Fonseca became the second youngest champion of the NextGen ATP tournament when he defied his lowly ranking of 145 to defeat Learner Tien in the final in front of a near-capacity crowd in Jeddah on Sunday.

He is the youngest champion at the event since current world number one Jannik Sinner claimed the title also at the age of 18 five years ago.

Fonseca, the youngest player in the tournament and the last to qualify, lived up to his billing as a future superstar by going undefeated and winning the biggest title of his prodigious career. In the final at King Abdullah Sports City, eighth seed Fonseca defeated sixth seed Learner Tien 2-4, 4-3 (10-8), 4-0, 4-2 to conclude an impressive breakthrough year for the 18-year-old Brazilian, who has surged 585 places in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2024.

The final began with a special appearance from Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal, who received enormous cheers from the crowd when he entered the court. Nadal spent three days in Jeddah in his role as the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF) Ambassador, enjoying the city, meeting with Saudi national team players, and hosting coaching clinics for children.

That set the tone for a riveting final that had the packed stadium gripped from start to finish. Tien started brightly, breaking Fonseca’s serve in the first game and that was enough to win the opening set. The players couldn’t be separated in the second set, which was decided in a tense tiebreak that saw Tien save four set points before Fonseca, who saved one set point of his own, eventually levelled at the fifth attempt.

If the second set was close, the third was emphatic as Fonseca siezed the momentum to break Tien’s serve twice and claim a 2-1 sets lead in just 12 minutes.

The competitiveness returned for the fourth set until Fonseca’s relentless aggression earned the all-important break in the fifth game. From there, it was a matter of holding serve, which Fonseca duly did to win title and become the first Brazilian champion of this tournament.

By clinching the Next Gen ATP Finals trophy, Fonseca adds his name to an illustrious list of champions, including World No. 1 Sinner, four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, and 11-time ATP Tour winner Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is also the second-youngest winner of the tournament.

Fonseca, 18, said: “I’m so happy to win this match, to win this tournament. I’m very proud of myself. I think back to January, I can’t believe that I just won the Next Gen and all the things I did this year. It’s just amazing the way I improved, not only technically, but physically and mentally. But of course I want more. My dream is to become [world] number one.”

Tien, 19, said: “It was a really good experience. Coming here, getting to see something different outside the US, it was a good week for me. I was really happy just to be able to qualify to be here, so to come here and still have some success against seven other really good players is a big accomplishment and something I’m really proud of.”

It was a fitting conclusion to a remarkably successful tournament in the second year Jeddah has hosted the Next Gen ATP Finals as part of a five-year partnership between the ATP Tour and the STF.

Arij Mutabagani, Saudi Tennis Federation President, said: “The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals has been a fantastic success, attracting large and enthusiastic crowds all week. The passion and energy displayed by fans and the hard work of our staff and volunteers has been truly inspiring.

“Alongside the tournament, the community events hosted around Jeddah, led by tennis legend and our Ambassador Rafael Nadal, continue to create more opportunities as we work tirelessly towards achieving our goal of getting one million into tennis by 2030. Events like this are crucial to introducing the sport to the future leaders of Saudi Arabia and building the foundations for future success.”

Agencies