Sawt Falasteen - Fonseca frenzy as Brazilian stirs memories of Kuerten at Roland Garros

Fonseca's presence on the outside courts at Roland Garros has generated an electric atmosphere reminiscent of the Maracana, the iconic stadium in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro.

Court 7, the site of his first-round win, was too small to welcome his growing legion of fans and onlookers, with long queues forming even before the match started.

Even against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in round two, Fonseca had more than his fair share of supporters on Court 14.

"I knew there is going to be a lot of Brazilians here in Paris, a lot of Brazilians living here and they come a lot. I think because of 'Guga'," Fonseca said of Kuerten, who won the title in Paris in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The Fonseca frenzy isn't confined to Paris: from Melbourne to Rio de Janeiro, via Buenos Aires and Miami, crowds flock to the stands in the hope of catching a glimpse of the 18-year-old tipped for the very top.

Fonseca first grabbed the public's attention a year ago in his native Rio.

Then ranked 655th in the world, he reached the quarter-finals of the clay tournament -- the most prestigious in South America -- situated 10 minutes from where he grew up.

- Champion in Buenos Aires -

Fonseca made a splash on his Grand Slam debut earlier this year in Australia, knocking out Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

Back home, fans believe they are witnessing the emergence of a new Kuerten, also a former world number one. On tour, the game's elite are also full of praise.

"It is just the beginning of the year, just one win in a Grand Slam, but he's going to be there," Alcaraz said of Fonseca in Melbourne. "We're going to put Joao Fonseca's name on the list of the best players in the world really soon."

He has caught the eye too of Novak Djokovic, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner impressed by "everything he (Fonseca) has done in the last year".

In February, Fonseca captured his first ATP title in Buenos Aires, beating Francisco Cerundolo in the final to become one of the youngest ever champions on the circuit.

His opening victory at Roland Garros over 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz earned him the honour of the youngest to win a match in the men's draw here since Alcaraz in 2021.

- 'Born on clay' -

"He's showing maturity and desire. I think he's very balanced, and his game is quite impressive. And above all, you can tell he's hungry for more," said Herbert.

Those who have seen Fonseca in action have been treated to his exceptional shot-making, in particular his blistering forehand which is even more lethal on clay.

"I was born on clay," said Fonseca. "I only started playing on hard when I was like 11, 12, something like that, playing tournaments. So clay for me is really good."

But he also hopes to one day master Wimbledon.

"I love playing on grass," he said.

A star in the making but wary of expecting too much too soon, Fonseca admits he still has plenty of room for improvement, citing his backhand, service game, net play and clay-court defence.

"Those are things that is going to come with time," he said.

"I'm young, and I'm getting the experience of everything now. So I'm learning a lot from this circuit and this environment. (There's) going to come a lot of expectations.

"Sometimes the pressure is going to come. It's normal. You need to deal with it."

After Rublev in January, Fonseca will have another chance to take down a top-10 player in the next round in Paris when he takes on British fifth seed Jack Draper.

R.AbuNasser--SF-PST