Djokovic highlights João Fonseca's career: 'On the right track'

On the eve of his debut at the Masters 1000 in Madrid, João Fonseca had the privilege of receiving praise from Novak Djokovic, current number four in the world. During the Laureus Awards, of which the Serbian was one of the presenters, he didn't mince words when talking about the 19-year-old carioca's career, even comparing him to Guga Kuerten. At the “Sport Oscar”, João competed in the revelation of the year category, but was surpassed by Lando Norris, current Formula 1 champion.

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When mentioning the Brazilian, Djokovic highlighted João's mental strength, in addition to tactical and technical issues on the court: “I think he has great talent. He's a really impressive player. Furthermore, he seems very mature for his age.”

The Serbian also highlighted the Brazilian's team, led by coach Guilherme Teixeira since the young player's transition to the professional circuit. For Djokovic, João's role also corresponds to filling a historical gap in Brazilian tennis.

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— He's on the right path, he knows what he's doing, he has good people around him, very humble and very focused people. It's fantastic that we now have a promising young player coming from Brazil. We haven't had such an exceptional singles player since Guga Kuerten. There's a bright future ahead for him, he's so young, let's see what happens.

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João Fonseca prepares for Masters 1000 in Madrid

The next commitment for the 19-year-old from Rio, currently number 31 in the world, is the Masters 1000 in Madrid. João is the tournament's top seed and makes his debut this Friday (24), at around 4pm (Brasília time).

On the other side of the net, he will have a strong opponent: Cilic, former number 3 in the world and owner of 21 titles on the circuit, including the emblematic 2014 US Open trophy.