Joao Fonseca had just turned eight years old when Marin Cilic won the US Open back in 2014, and wasn’t even born yet when the Croatian first turned pro.
On Friday in the Mutua Madrid Open second round, the pair will square off in a clash of generations – one that Cilic is very much looking forward to.
“It’s definitely going to be a fun battle of generations,” Cilic told Portugal’s Sport TV after his opening-round win.
“Joao is coming through the rankings and playing better and better season after season. Definitely it’s going to be fun to play, fun to meet him on the court. I’ll try to obviously play my best game. The crowd is going to be there, but that’s tennis, you have to always enjoy these moments, to bring the intensity, to bring the emotions. Definitely it’s going to be a fun battle.”
At 37, Cilic has still got the fire that has carried him on court for the past two decades on tour, and it certainly helped the former world No.3 claim his first victory at the Caja Magica since 2022 on Wednesday against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.
Making his 13th main draw appearance in the Spanish capital, Cilic rallied back from a set down to defeat Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and claim his first top-50 victory on clay in four years.
The towering Croat has amassed the second-most career victories among active ATP players – behind Novak Djokovic – as he crossed the 600-wins mark en route to the Dallas semi-finals two months ago.
He will be banking on experience when he takes on the 27th-seeded Fonseca, who is already a two-time ATP titlist at just 19 years of age.
A fan favourite who draws in huge Brazilian crowds everywhere he competes, Fonseca reached the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo and Munich in the build-up to Madrid, where he is contesting the main draw for the third time in his young career.
For Cilic, these are the kind of matches that fuel his motivation at this stage in tennis journey.
Asked by Tennis TV on Wednesday if he’s still enjoying himself out there on court, Cilic gave a resounding: “Absolutely.”
“Playing at these big events, it’s always special,” he continued. “When you get the emotions in, it makes it all worth it and shows that you really want it.
“It’s always great with intensity, with emotions, with the level of play and I enjoy that. The crowd here, they love tennis, they love the battle, they love to see that emotion and that brings the best out of us.”
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Fonseca will be looking to reach the third round in Madrid for the first time, having lost in round two in each of his two previous outings at the Caja Magica.
The Brazilian teen attended the Laureus Awards on the eve of the tournament, where he was nominated in the Breakthrough of the Year category.
He did not walk away with the award but received lots of praise from many of the attendees, including Laureus Awards co-host Novak Djokovic, who told reporters on the red carpet that he expects great things from Fonseca.
“I think he’s a great talent. He’s a really impressive player. Also, it seems like he’s really mature for his age,” said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
“He’s on the right path, he knows what he’s doing, he has good people around him, very humble people and I think very focused as well. It’s fantastic for our sport that we have now an exciting young player coming from Brazil. Since Guga Kuerten we didn’t have a great singles player, that great singles player, so let’s see. There’s a bright future ahead of him, he’s so young, let’s see what happens.”