Joao Fonseca, champion at the Next Gen Finals: why he felt like he did in Rio, the praise for Nadal and what he will do with the prize

The seventh edition of the Next Gen Finals was left in the hands of the South American continent, which this Sunday celebrated the 2-4, 4-3 (8), 4-0 and 4-2 triumph of the Brazilian tennis player Joao Fonseca (145°) against the American Learner Tien (122°) to position himself as one of the strong candidates to dominate the men’s circuit in the future.

“I am very proud of myself. I want to thank my team and my family, who were with me during this week. I beat very good players in this incredible tournament. Many thanks also to the public and the organization, they made me feel as if I were playing in Rio. “They made a lot of noise and there were some Brazilians, I love playing in front of people,” said the Rio native, only 18 years old, who became the second youngest player to lift the trophy.

Subsequently, the latest champion of the Lexington Challenger 75, who entered the event as the last classified to the event that brings together the eight best Under 21s of the season, referred to the $500,000 he will receive for proclaiming himself: “Well, I can’t say it sounds bad. I’m still young, so luckily my parents will help me with this money, which is a lot.”“.

“It’s incredible to be on the list with great champions, I hope that in the future I can be with them“, continued the fervent admirer of Roger Federer and Kobe Bryant, who established himself in the event like Hyeon Chung (1,095th), Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th), Jannik Sinner (1st), Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) , Brandon Nakashima (38th) and Hamad Medjedovic (144th).

Finally, the quarterfinalist at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and the ATP 250 in Bucharest highlighted the presence of the legendary Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the stands of the stadium: “I want to thank Rafa for being here, It’s a legend. It is very important for us young people playing in these big stadiums in front of these players looking at us.

You followed all the activity of the Next Gen ATP Finals LIVE on Disney+.