Challenger Q3: Joao Fonseca’s first title marks a landmark achievement | ATP Tour

Importer

Challenger Q3: Fonseca’s first title marks a historic achievement

Dzumhur leads the Challenger season with five titles

September 09, 2024

For players who aspire to compete at the big stages on the ATP Tour and Grand Slam tournaments, it all starts on the ATP Challenger Tour. That was the case with Jannik Sinner, who claimed his second major title on Sunday at the US Open.

Almost five years before his second Slam title, the Italian lifted the trophy at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Lexington, Kentucky at the age of 17.

Does this bode well for Joao Fonseca, the Brazilian who claimed the Lexington Challenger title last month just one day ahead of Sinner? The #NextGenATP star’s victory in Kentucky headlines key moments on the ATP Challenger Tour from Q3:

Fastest Growing Fonseca:
Less than a year removed from winning the 2023 US Open singles event, Fonseca did not drop a set en route to his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Lexington. The Rio de Janeiro native, who turned 18 two and a half weeks after his victory, is the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP Challenger Tour title.

“At the ceremony, they gave me the trophy and announced, ‘Lexington is the first Challenger to have three 17-year-old champions. He said, ‘Shang Juncheng [2022]Jannik Sinner [2019],’” recalled Fonseca, who is ranked sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. “That’s really good.”

Fonseca entered this week having lost four of his last five matches in the ranks. But the teenager bounced back quickly, becoming the second youngest South American player to win the hard-court Challenger tournament, after Juan Martin del Potro.

Read ATPtour.com’s feature on Fonseca for insights from youngsters and their parents.

#NextGenATP champions:
Fonseca was not the only youngster to make history this past quarter. Gabriel Debru, 18, became the third youngest Frenchman to win multiple Challenger titles (since 1978), joining former Top 10 stars Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils. Debru won the Troyes Challenger (July) and Como in September.

Vilius Gaubas survived the final, three hours, two minutes at Cordenons to lift his first Challenger title. The 19-year-old, seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is the youngest of the three Lithuanians in Challenger history.

The new ATP Challenger Tour champions in 2024

Damir Dzumhur’s Outstanding Title Run:
It’s been a breakout year for World No. 23 Damir Dzumhur, who boasts a season-leading five Challenger titles. No other player has won more than three this season. The 32-year-old returned to the Top 100 in August for the first time in four and a half years. Bosnia have won in Barletta, Ostrava, Zagreb, Santo Domingo and Istanbul, with the last two coming last month.

“I’m not done yet. This is not where I want to stop. I want to go step by step,” said Dzumhur last month. “I’m definitely very motivated [knowing] to be back in the Top 100. It’s really nice to see your name among the top 100 players.”

Richard Gasquet Earns Another Place In The Record Books:
The Frenchman claimed his first Challenger title since 2017 in Cassis to become the third oldest champion at that level, behind Ivo Karlovic and Fernando Verdasco. Gasquet has made Challenger history throughout his decade-plus career, becoming the second-youngest to win the title as a 16-year-old in 2002.

Wu Yibing Wins the Comeback Tournament:
The Chinese star capped a dream comeback week with a victory on home soil in Jinan. Playing in his second tournament since last year’s US Open and first since April’s ATP 250 in Houston, Wu went all out to claim his fifth Challenger title as World No. 582.

“That was my goal before coming here,” Wu said wildly about winning the trophy. “I expect a lot from myself and my team, we are all working hard for this. It was more [four] months since my last tournament. I feel happy. It’s the first step back. And I hope there is more to come.”