A prominent tennis insider recently defended Joao Fonseca after a fan questioned the hype surrounding the 19-year-old. The insider cited 21-year-old NBA star Victor Wembanyama's example to drive home his point about Fonseca, who is widely regarded as a future great in men's tennis.On Tuesday, October 28, an Instagram user shared a video featuring a commentary on Fonseca in the wake of the young Brazilian's title triumph at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, a prestigious ATP 500 indoor hardcourt event that has been previously conquered by the likes of Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.The user claimed that he isn't a Fonseca hater and even acknowledged the Brazilian's infectious on-court energy. However, he blatantly dismissed bold predictions about the 19-year-old competing at the same level as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the years ahead. He also downplayed the Brazilian's win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Basel final."I'm sorry, but I'm not buying into the Joao Fonseca hype just yet, and I promise you I'm not a hater. I know it seems like I am but I'm not a Joao Fonseca hater. I actually quite like the kid. I think he's chaotic on court. I think he brings a level of energy that the ATP needs right now," the user said.He added:"But I swear to God, every time this kid farts, I have someone in my DMs telling me he is the next member of the Big Three alongside Carlos and Jannik. How can we say that? He can't even beat Taylor Fritz or Tommy Paul, struggles against top players and by top players I mean people in the top 15. I don't care that he beat Davidovich Fokina in the final at Basel." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAfter listening to the user's take, tennis insider Gill Gross likened it to a situation where someone feels Victor Wembanyama is overhyped because the Frenchman didn't finish as a top player in his rookie year in the NBA. It's worth noting that Gross' take was hypothetical, as Wembanyama enjoyed a historic rookie season for the San Antonio Spurs, being later named the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year."This is kinda like saying you’re not buying into Wembenyama (sic) hype after his rookie year because he wasn’t a top-25 player in the league… sometimes potential is evident before potential is reached," Gross wrote.Gross' comment in defense of Fonseca (Source: Instagram/georgecarmi)Joao Fonseca himself laid bare his intention to steer clear of hype and work on catching up to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik SinnerJoao Fonseca during a press conference at the 2025 Miami Open (Source: Getty)In the aftermath of his Swiss Indoors title triumph, Joao Fonseca was told by defeated final opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina that he is sure to become the next Novak Djokovic and challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's dominance just like how the Serb challenged Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's duopoly.Later, the Brazilian was asked to share his thoughts on Davidovich Fokina's words. While the 19-year-old acknowledged the Spaniard's prediction, he refused to be drawn too much into it. According to Fonseca, he and the rest of the ATP Tour have a long way to go to be able to compete with the dominant Alcaraz and Sinner."I am not a fan of these comparisons. Everyone has their own history…I think it’s a pleasure hearing those kind words from him. Great guy, great friend, great fighter. I’m trying my best but we all know that Jannik and Carlos are playing next level tennis. So all the other players from the tour, we are working harder & harder to keep going with them," Fonseca said at a post-match press conference.Right now, Joao Fonseca is competing at the 2025 Paris Masters, where he has secured progress to the second round after dispatching Denis Shapovalov in the first.