João Fonseca and the case of fans who need patience.

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Tennis is a marathon, not a sprint. Yelling louder on court won't make him play better.

Joao Fonseca passes the eye test. He has passed the test a long time ago.

Now what he needs is the support of his fans in the highs AND the lows. He needs people to known HOW to support him, too, both on social media and on court.

Sure, the atmosphere can be great with lively fans. But tennis has a specific kind of behaviour that is expected of fans, and it's not at all similar to a soccer match. You just have to stay silent sometimes.

In fact, trying mess with his opponents by being obnoxious is not only going to disrupt them, but also break the rhythm of the match, put pressure on Fonseca, and ultimately could hinder his performance in said match.

So, we gotta chill.

And we need to be patient also. He still needs to gain more experience, learn more about on-court tactics and decision making. He will lose tough matches. He will lose early. He probably won't win a big title this year, at least not a Grand Slam.

And that's fine.

All that hype needs to be translated into disciplined excitement, not emotional breakdowns on social media saying Fonseca is "just hype". He clearly is ridiculously talented.

Oh, and by the way, let's be gentle with how we approach the careers of Rafa Jodar, Alexandre Blockx, Martin Landaluce, and any other talented teenager that will appear. They also need to learn and play, and, more often than they'd like, lose. Even if it looks like they won't be losing much right now.

Cited Andy Roddick short: youtube.com/shorts/XupeWCeY7xo

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