Acclaimed tennis coach Rick Macci has identified Joao Fonseca as “the chosen one” who he believes could threaten the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz has won five Grand Slam titles, while Sinner has secured four. Since the start of 2024, the leading duo have collected each of the last seven majors between them.
Fonseca has been widely touted as one of the most exciting talents in tennis since his emergence on the tour.
The Brazilian climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 44 after earning two wins to reach the third round at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
The 18-year-old won his maiden ATP Tour title at the Argentine Open in February after triumphing at the ATP Next Gen Finals in December 2024.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365, Macci was asked which player he sees as the biggest long-term challenger to Sinner and Alcaraz.
“Fonseca is the best young talent I’ve seen. He would be, to me, the chosen one that could be in there,” assessed the American.
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“But he’s a couple years away, even though he could be top 20 by the end of the year, I think.
“And you gotta remember, as everybody is getting better, so is Sinner and Alcaraz, they’re gonna push themselves to add more sprinkles to their game. They’re just a cut above because of how complete they are.
“Alcaraz can do every shot from everywhere on the court and he’s the fastest player out there. And Sinner, he’s just rock solid off both sides. His serve’s got a lot better. And mentally, he’s not going anywhere.
“And so, the bar has been so raised, but listen, there’s always gonna be a next. But I don’t see anybody, for quite a while, joining that mix.
“And you’ll know it when someone beats them in a Grand Slam and then they follow it up and get in that two, three, four [Grand Slam] category and they start beating Carlos or Jannik a couple times, even at other events.
“Then, there might be someone [who will] come in and we may get the [new] Big Three. But I don’t see anybody on the horizon.”
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The post Who could form a ‘new Big Three’ with Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner? Rick Macci gives his verdict appeared first on Tennis365.
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