Challenger Q3: Fonseca’s first title marks milestone breakthrough

For players with aspirations of competing on the biggest stages on the ATP Tour and in Grand Slam tournaments, it all begins on the ATP Challenger Tour. Such was the case for Jannik Sinner, who claimed his second major title Sunday at the US Open.

Roughly five years before his second Slam trophy, the Italian was lifting the trophy at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Lexington, Kentucky as a 17-year-old.

Is this a good omen for Joao Fonseca, the Brazilian who last month claimed the Lexington Challenger title just one day younger than Sinner? The #NextGenATP star’s triumph in Kentucky headlines key moments on the ATP Challenger Tour from Q3:

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

“In 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, sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. “That’s really nice.”

Fonseca entered the week having lost four of his past five matches across levels. But the teen quickly rebounded, becoming the second-youngest South American player to win a hard-court Challenger tournament, only behind Juan Martin del Potro.

Read ATPTour.com's feature on Fonseca with insights from the teenager and his parents.

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

Vilius Gaubas survived a marathon, three-hour, two-minute final in Cordenons to lift his maiden Challenger title. The 19-year-old, seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is the youngest of three Lithuanian champions in Challenger history.

Youngest ATP Challenger Tour champions in 2024

Damir Dzumhur’s Dominant Title Run:
It has been a resurgent year for former 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. The Bosnian has triumphed in Barletta, Ostrava, Zagreb, Santo Domingo and Istanbul, with the latter two coming in the past month.

“I'm not done yet. This is not where I want to stop. I just want to go step by step,” Dzumhur said last month. “I'm definitely more motivated [knowing] that I got back to the Top 100. It's definitely nice to see your name among the Top 100 players.”

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

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

“That was my goal before coming here,” the wild card Wu said of winning the trophy. “I have high expectations of myself and also my team, we all work hard for it. It’s been more than [four] months since my last tournament. I feel happy. It’s the first step of coming back. And hopefully more to come.”

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