Young Brazilian tennis player João Fonseca, 18, has made history by winning his first ATP Tour title at the IEB+ Argentina Open, a tournament organized by Tennium, held in Buenos Aires. In the final, Fonseca defeated Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, the fifth seed, with a score of 6-4 and 7-6(1). This victory makes him the youngest champion of the tournament in the Open Era and the tenth youngest in ATP Tour history.
Fonseca has also become the second Brazilian player to win the Argentina Open, 24 years after Gustavo Kuerten was crowned champion in 2001, highlighting the significance of his victory for Brazilian tennis.
Throughout the tournament, Fonseca demonstrated remarkable resilience, especially in the quarterfinals, where he saved two match points against Argentine Mariano Navone. In the final, despite struggling to close out the match on serve twice, he kept his composure and dominated the tiebreak to secure victory in one hour and 45 minutes.
With this title, Fonseca will rise to number 68 in the ATP rankings, the highest position of his career so far. Additionally, he becomes the youngest South American to win an ATP title since 1990.
Meanwhile, Cerúndolo, who was seeking his fourth ATP Tour title and his first in his home country, was unable to prevail in the final. Throughout the tournament, he had displayed a high level of play, including an outstanding victory over top seed Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Fonseca entered the main draw of the Argentina Open through the Next Gen Accelerator program, designed to provide opportunities to players under 20 years old ranked within the ATP Top 250. This achievement underscores his rapid rise in professional tennis and his potential for future success on the global stage.
