Can Joao Fonseca emerge as genuine rival to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in 2026?

That 2008 Wimbledon final came during a four-year period of dominance by the duo which saw them win 15 of the 16 available Grand Slam titles and shut everyone else out of the world’s top two.

It was hard not to marvel at the duo when they met – the 2009 Australian Open final was another cracker – but come the end of that run, it’s fair to say many tennis fans were craving something a little different.

Thankfully, Novak Djokovic sprinkled in that difference (and then some). The rest, as they say, is history.

Almost two decades on and Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are now in the ATP Tour’s lead roles with the last eight Grand Slams divvied up between them.

Again, the pair have produced some sensational matches – May's French Open final the standout – but I cannot be the only one craving something else; a challenger to the status quo.

I wouldn’t be stupid enough to suggest people are bored by Alcaraz v Sinner but there is something in the phrase familiarity breeds contempt.

However, just maybe in the past few days, a few extra seeds have been sown in that battle to break the duopoly.

The bombshell news that Alcaraz has split from the coach who led him onto the tour, former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, creates uncertainty and poses questions.

Who will Alcaraz appoint as his new coach? How will he react without that familiar sounding board at his beck and call? Will it actually make any difference to a player who has now matured?

The split, which reportedly came about due to Alcaraz looking to reduce the percentage of prize money handed over to his coaching team, definitely offers a layer of much-needed intrigue ahead of the start of the 2026 season, which arrives in early January.

Many would say it has been needed with a whole host of players having queued up over the past two years to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner, only to make little impact.

It’s becoming increasingly hard to see Alex Zverev, 29 in April, becoming a Grand Slam champion, while Stefanos Tsitsipas has faded from the scene.

Taylor Fritz doesn’t look to have the ceiling to really get in among the true elite, while the same can be said of Ben Shelton, albeit he still has time on his side.

Despite an excellent first half of 2025, Jack Draper’s frail body is letting him down again, so who is auditioning for that Djokovic, circa 2010, role?

The one player who stands out for me in terms of potential is Joao Fonseca.

Like Sinner and Alcaraz before him, Fonseca was crowned ‘Next Gen’ ATP champion in 2024 and he immediately built on that last season, winning in Buenos Aires on his favoured clay and, perhaps more significantly, also claiming the title on indoor hardcourts in Basel at the end of the year.

Still only 19, the Brazilian is a player who makes big shots, many on his forehand which can produce power which brings back memories of another South American blaster, Fernando Gonzalez.

Fonseca added Franco Davin to his coaching team last season, a man who guided Juan Martin del Potro and Gaston Gaudio to Grand Slam titles, so the building blocks continue to be put in place.

“Hopefully, in the future, I will be with them (Alcaraz and Sinner), playing and competing in finals,” said Fonseca recently. “But one step at a time, and let’s put in the work.”

Indeed, it may well be that 2026 is too early for the world number 24 to really be sweeping those ahead of him aside and becoming the leading challenger to the Big Two.

However, few would doubt the talent is there. Just ask Andrey Rublev, who was beaten by Fonseca in straight sets at the Australian Open.

What I remain particularly interested in is how Fonseca will perform when given the chance to face Alcaraz or Sinner, something that is yet to happen.

Such a meeting will be box-office and, if it happens in the early part of the year, we just might get the story arc of the season beginning to unfold.

• Having tipped the winner of the recent Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Andy’s first betting preview of the 2026 season will be of the United Cup tournament, which gets under way on January 2

Watch the 2008 Wimbledon final in full