brazilian boy Joao Fonseca Competing Next Generation ATP Finals Play against American learner Tien on Sunday. Fonseca, 18, hopes to follow his example – world no. Jannik Sinnerwho won the 2019 contest.
The Jeddah event offers $2.05 million in prize money to players 20 and under. A win would make Fonseca the second youngest champion after Sinner. Fonseca served as Sinner’s hitting partner at last year’s ATP Finals. He thanked the Italians for encouraging him to turn to professional tennis.
“It would be amazing to replicate Sinner,” Fonseca said. “It shows that I’m on the right track and will be special.”
As the undefeated champion, Fonseca will earn $526,480. He is confident in his performance this week.
“I’m playing at a high level. I’m proud of myself and the way I’m training this week, very focused,” he said. “Having my family here, having my three coaches, it’s really good and I hope I can compete for a championship.”
The 19-year-old Tien has significantly improved his ranking this season, rising from outside the top 450 to 122nd.
“I’m happy with my game,” Tian said. “The crowd was great all week and it’s always great to play in an environment like this.”
This is the second year that the Hard Court Championship has been held Saudi Arabia. The event was previously held in Milan and was designed to showcase rising tennis stars. Past winners include Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipasnow a successful senior player. The game adopts an innovative format: best of five sets, with four games played first in each set.
