Boris Becker defends Joao Fonseca's fandom after Brazilian fans come under fire for creating football-like atmosphere

Boris Becker defended Joao Fonseca's fans after they came under fire for creating a football-like atmosphere at the Brazilian's matches. The Brazilian fans have been following the 18-year-old sensation from tournament to tournament to cheer him on.

Fonseca was last seen competing at the Miami Open, where he kicked off his campaign against Learner Tien. Fonseca won the match by turning around a one-set deficit. Interestingly, after the match, the American joked about how he played at the Rio Open, via his Instagram, alluding to the home-like atmosphere created by the Brazilian fans for his opponent.

There was then another controversy in the second round when the 18-year-old's match switching courts resulted in the Brazilian fans disrupting Jack Draper's match. Fonseca played Alex de Minaur in the third round, which the Aussie won 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, following which he hilariously wrote 'Rio Open' on the camera.

Amid the Brazilian fans' loud style of supporting, a user on X (formerly Twitter) called out the football-like atmosphere created by them. They clarified they had nothing against Fonseca but didn't like how de Minaur wasn't receiving any support.

"No hate to Fonseca (baby goat) but this crowd is something else and should not be allowed in the stands. It almost feels like a fricking football match, not tennis . My god, I have never seen anything like that . There’s barely any support for Demon."

However, Boris Becker defended Joao Fonseca and his fans, stating that tennis needed players who had the capability of pulling crowds in massive numbers.

"Alexa, with all respect your absolutely wrong in your opinion! Tennis 🎾 needs players who attract crowds and create atmosphere like we have seen when Fonseca is playing…it was not against de Minaur but for the young kid from Brasil …," Boris Becker wrote.

The German legend was also happy with the way de Minaur dealt with the crowd.

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"Respect for Alex de Minaur" - Boris Becker on Aussie's composure during Joao Fonseca third-round thriller

Boris Becker - Source: Getty

After his win against Joao Fonseca, Alex de Minaur explained how he dealt with the Brazilian crowd's incessant cheering for their diamond in the rough.

“There’s no other way. You can go out there and complain and get rattled. You can do a lot of different things. But that won’t help you win the match. Ultimately, that’s what I told myself. It’s gonna be a battle not only against the player, but against the crowd. Just put your head down, do the work.. and try to compete every single point.”

Boris Becker was impressed by the Aussie's answer and wrote on X:

"Respect for De Minaur handling the situation like a seasoned pro !"

After Alex de Minaur cheekily wrote Rio Open on the camera, sparking controversy, the Aussie clarified that his intentions were only pure and he was "only spreading love".