A memorable week so far for Joao Fonseca in Jeddah included a bit of childhood reminiscing with an ATP Tour great on Friday afternoon.
With Rafael Nadal on a three-day visit to the Next Gen ATP Finals, Fonseca showed the recently retired Spaniard a treasured 2010 photo of himself as a four-year-old with his mother Roberta and Nadal in South Africa. Fourteen years later, the trio recreated the photo, which Nadal recognised as having been taken ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final.
Rafael Nadal, a four-year-old Joao Fonseca and Roberta Fonseca in South Africa in 2010. Photo courtesy of Joao Fonseca
Although his time on Tour alongside Nadal proved to be relatively brief after the Spaniard retired last month, Fonseca did witness the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in action in the flesh. The Brazilian was a regular attendee at the Rio Open presented by Claro as a child, and he watched Nadal during his title run at the ATP 500 in 2014.
Nadal and Fonseca both also competed at this year’s Mutua Madrid Open, where Fonseca notched his maiden ATP Masters 1000 victory and spoke about the impact of Nadal’s presence in the locker room.
“Rafa is a legend," 18-year-old Fonseca told ATPTour.com earlier this week in Jeddah when asked about the thought of trying to emulate the teenage Nadal’s remarkable 11-title 2005 season. "I’m a Roger fan, but I also love Rafa. My coach is a Rafa fan. My phone unlock screen is Rafa with a sentence. It has been a pleasure to meet him. Eleven titles in a season is just insane. I will try to do the same.”
A memorable week so far for Joao Fonseca in Jeddah included a bit of childhood reminiscing with @RafaelNadal.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 22, 2024
Fonseca and Nadal’s latest meeting took place shortly before the Brazilian took to court in Jeddah, where he outlasted Jakub Mensik in a thrilling five-setter to complete a perfect group stage at the Next Gen ATP Finals. Fonseca, who is the first player from his country to compete in the history of the 20-and-under event, meets Luca Van Assche in the semi-finals on Saturday evening.
Read more on Fonseca and his 2010 meeting with Nadal exclusively in the upcoming December issue of ATP Tour Insider.
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