The Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT) confirmed the first wild card (invitation) for the Republic Open – ATP Challenger 100, which will be played between the 20th and 26th of this month, at Arena BRB, in Brasília, with free entry to the public .
João Fonseca from Rio de Janeiro was awarded the invitation and joins Thiago Monteiro and Gustavo Heide, already registered in the main draw.
Regarded as one of the young talents in Brazilian tennis, the 17-year-old from Rio is currently number 1 in the world in the ITF youth rankings and champion of the US Open Junior. In the ATP professional rankings, he occupies 676th place and this year he reached the quarterfinals of the ATP 75 in Florianópolis, the semifinals at the ITF M15 in Mogi das Cruzes and Saarlouis, Germany, in addition to the quarterfinals at the ITF M15 in Dufflel, Belgium. .
“I am grateful for the wild card for the Republic Open. I’m very happy to be back competing again. I’m feeling 100% physically and confident after good days of preparation at the ATP Finals,” said Fonseca, who is competing in a tournament of this level for the first time.
It is also the first professional tournament that Fonseca has played since June. Last week, the Rio native was in Turin, Italy, participating in the ATP Finals as a hitting partner.
In addition to the Brazilians, the Republic Open will feature the participation of tennis players from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Italy and Kazakhstan, among them, three top 100 tennis players: Argentine Federico Coria and Chileans Cristian Garin and Tomas Barrios Will see.
The Republic Open – ATP Challenger 100 will distribute a total prize pool of US$130,000 and 100 points to the tournament champion.
