Combine that with poise and maturity and, this is a player of the present as much as of the future.
“Sometimes we see talent and say, ‘This is a good kid; keep an eye on him.’ This is a whole new level of anticipation,” said Jon Wertheim. “Fans have been talking about him. Agents have been going to Brazil. This guy clearly already has credibility in the locker room when there’s Rublev, the favorite playing a teenager, and he had a look on his face like, ‘Wow.’
“Even the handshake at the net, there was no, ‘I was eliminated by a kid.’ This was, ‘This guy is the real deal, and someone else we’re all going to have to contend with.’”
Fonseca could get another big-stage clash against No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe in the third round, but he will first have to back up his big win against Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who edged past 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in an impressive first round win of his own (Fonseca leads 1-0).
The earliest he could face Jannik Sinner wouldn’t be until the semifinals, but from how he played against Rublev, it seems possible we could see a major match like that in the next year—if not next week.
