Article 04 Nov 2022

'We were once rivals': Fonseca and Rodrigues unite as Brazil march on

Ross McLean

04 Nov 2022

Brazil prodigy Joao Fonseca admits that he and teammate Pedro Rodrigues were once adversaries, but not anymore. These days, the duo are spearheading their nation’s bid for Davis Cup Juniors by BNP Paribas Finals glory in Antalya.

Fonseca was yet again in belligerent mood and defeated Aussie Hayden Jones to build on Rodrigues’s victory in the opening singles showdown of their clash with Australia to fire Brazil to the semi-finals. Italy await in the last four.

Having made his Junior Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros in May, Fonseca has continued to develop and has now won all five matches he has contested across singles and doubles at the Davis Cup Juniors Finals.

The 16-year-old is clearly a slick operator while, following his defeat of Charlie Camus, Rodrigues has now won back-to-back singles matches following defeat to Morocco’s Amine Jamji on Tuesday. Together with Gustavo Almeida, Brazil are a formidable outfit and a significant force.

“Pedro and I were rivals when we were younger, but now we are a team and it is great to win for your country,” Fonseca, who is ranked No. 44 in the junior world rankings, told itftennis.com. “It is different playing for a team rather than just yourself.

“Tennis is often an individual game but here we play as a team and vibe with our friends. There are times when we have been, and will be, opponents but we are cheering for each other here, which is so nice and means a lot.

“I didn’t play very well today, quite honestly. The score [6-0 6-2] looks easy but the match was not that easy. I was not comfortable – there were a lot of deuces – but I won almost every important point. My team was helping me through the game. I can do much better.”

Rodrigues is no pushover and has four titles to his name in 2022, his most recent – and joint-best of his career – coming at J3 Salvador in early October. He shares Fonseca’s view of the significance of winning in national team colours.

“It’s incredible to win for Brazil and such a great feeling,” Rodrigues told itftennis.com. “I am getting better as a player and getting more experiences like this will be good for me.

“Like Joao, I had a tough opponent today, so I was very happy to get through my match. It is fantastic and a good sensation to be in the semi-finals, although we know we need to play hard tomorrow to keep the journey going.”

Brazil’s semi-final opponents Italy reached the last four after a resounding 3-0 victory over Japan, with Lorenzo Carboni and Cina Federico chalking up singles wins before Carboni teamed up with Lorenzo Angelini in the doubles.

The second semi-final will see the USA take on France after dispatching Czech Republic and Spain respectively. USA were convincing 2-0 winners following singles success for Kaylan Bigun and Alex Razeghi, while France’s tussle with Spain went the distance.

Thomas Faurel fired France into the lead with victory over Carles Cordoba, only for Theo Papamalamis to retire from his match with Martin Landaluce with the Spaniard leading just 1-0 in the first set. Faurel and Lucas Marionneau then prevailed in the doubles.