João Fonseca is announced at the Laver Cup and becomes the first Brazilian in the history of the competition

New star of national sports, João Fonseca will take another step in his growth in the world of international tennis. This Tuesday (13), the young Brazilian was announced to compete in the Laver Cup, a tournament created by Roger Federer and which usually features some of the best in the world at each edition.

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With the announcement, Fonseca will become the first Brazilian to compete in the competition, created in 2017 by former Swiss tennis player and Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann . "First participation. New generation," the Laver Cup announced on social media. "João Fonseca is ready to bring energy to his debut with Team World in September."

The 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro was called up to join the team that brings together some of the best tennis players on the planet to face Team Europe . The tournament is a competition between the two teams over a weekend every September. The tennis players compete in singles and doubles matches during the Laver Cup.

This year's edition will be held in San Francisco, United States . The tournament alternates between European cities and the rest of the world - the last editions outside Europe were held in the USA and Canada. This year, the event will be held between September 19 and 21 on indoor hard courts.

Under the rules of the Laver Cup, players from each team are selected by their captains. In the case of Team World, the current leader is American Andre Agassi, who was full of praise for the young Brazilian. Like Fonseca, Agassi will be making his debut as captain of the World Team. "João is the kind of young talent that makes the Laver Cup so special. He is fearless, full of energy, has a great game and loves the big stage. His performance this season shows me that he is ready for it. I am sure he will do well in the team environment and I am really looking forward to working with him and getting to know him better," said the former tennis player, one of the legends of American tennis.

Fonseca, in turn, was grateful for the opportunity . "I'm very excited to have been selected to play for Team World in the Laver Cup. I've watched the event since I was a kid and always dreamed of playing. To now be on a team with guys like Fritz, Paul and Shelton, and to be coached by Andre Agassi, is just unbelievable! I'm going to give it my all."

Fonseca will play alongside Americans Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton on Team World. Team Europe already includes German Alexander Zverev and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, currently ranked number two and three in the world, as well as Denmark's Holger Rune. New players for both teams will be announced in the coming days.

On the eve of Roland Garros, which starts on the 25th of this month, Fonseca is going through a difficult time on the circuit. He has lost three consecutive matches , something that has happened for the first time this season. The world number 65 was eliminated in his debut match at the Rome Masters 1000. Before that, he had lost in the first match at the Estoril Challenger in Portugal, and was defeated in the second round at the Madrid Masters.

Despite the few matches played on clay at this time of year, Fonseca and his team decided to stick to their plan, without playing any tournaments this week, the last one before the start of the French Grand Slam.