Mensik and Fonseca, the ingredients of a new generational rivalry

We reveal the keys that can build a new great rivalry of the future between two very different players with similarities to stars from another era.

Diego Jiménez Rubio | 29 Mar 2025 | 17.57
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Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik, new rivalry. Photo: gettyimages
Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik, new rivalry. Photo: gettyimages

Life is cyclical and tennis insists on creating stories of great rivalry between players different from each other destined to challenge each other for glory. Many predicted the end of this sport with the decline of the Big 3, but the emergence of Sinner and Alcaraz was seen as a miracle, so how to interpret the possible birth of a new era with Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik at the helm?

Only one year separates their ages, they have contrasting styles and personalities, but both strive to show that tennis can have a flawless future. Many dreamed of the rise of a new Big 3 when the original, the only, genuine, and seemingly unbeatable one came to an end, but reality surpasses any fiction and tennis makes an offering in the form of young stars ready to revolutionize this sport. Jakub Mensik is maturing at an impressive speed, while Joao Fonseca breaks records of precocity and makes everyone shiver with his level of play, character, and intangibles.

Many denounce the lack of media attention received by Mensik, a man who, at less than 20 years old, has already ensured his entrance into the top 30 of the ATP ranking. The leap in quality that the Czech has made between 18 years and 6 months and his current age is impressive, easily comparable to what men like Djokovic and Sinner did. Cold, shy, low-profile, and hailing from a sparsely populated country, Jakub’s media projection has been much lower than that of a Fonseca who captivates the crowds.

- Mensik has evolved impressively from 18 years and 6 months to his current age, while Fonseca is standing out at a younger age.

It's no wonder. The performance of the Brazilian in his early professional stages has been brilliant. Many of his achievements up to the age of 18 years and 6 months are perfectly comparable to those of Alcaraz, and even to those of Nadal, making an abstraction exercise necessary to understand the greater difficulty young players face nowadays to stand out at an early age, given the importance of physique in this sport and the large number of experienced players who curb the impulses of newcomers.

However, Joao has managed to win an ATP title, achieve numerous victories in top-level tournaments, and above all, charm all who have seen him play. Brimming with charisma, with a game as effective and forceful as it is beautiful, and with that connection to the audience that only a few privileged ones manage to create, the Brazilian aims very high.

There are clear signs to suggest that the definitive end of the Big 3, when Djokovic retires, will be much less dramatic than expected. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz promise a rivalry of very different styles and personalities, as can also be the case with Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik. It remains to be seen if the Brazilian evolves as much and as well as the Czech did before turning 20, and if the latter continues to grow and establishes himself as a real and consistent alternative to the established power.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Mensik y Fonseca, los ingredientes de una nueva rivalidad generacional