Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca beat American Learner Tien to become the second-youngest player to win the ATP Next Gen Finals title on Sunday in Saudi Arabia.
The 18-year-old dropped his first set before battling back into contention and then dominated the rest of the match to beat Tien 2-4 4-3 (8) 4-0 4-2 in Jeddah.
Fonseca won all five matches of the tournament beginning with an upset of top-seed Arthur Fils on the first day of round-robin action.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, who won the ATP Finals this year, was the only player younger than Fonseca to win the season-ending tournament.
“I was really nervous before the match. I knew it was going to be so difficult,” Fonseca said.
“I played a final against Learner in juniors at the 2023 US Open and I know the way he can play. He is such a nice guy and a great player, so I knew it was going to be difficult, mentally and physically. But I got through.”
Fonseca hit eight aces without a double fault and dominated on his first serve while Tien had the edge in winners but committed 10 more unforced errors.
The tournament which was founded in 2017 features the eight best players aged 20 and under on tour in a given year.
Ahead of the final, Fonseca spoke about wanting to emulate Sinner, for whom he was a hitting partner at last year’s ATP Finals.
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