Tennis News: Joao Fonseca, Alex Michelsen, Coco Gauff, Kim Clijsters

The ATP teenage invasion continues. Joao Fonseca and Alex Michelsen were back on the court after their brilliant wins in Rio and Cabo respectively.

The 17-year-old Brazilian, Joao Fonseca, gives the home crowd plenty to cheer about. The stands are packed, and the atmosphere is wild and crazy reminiscent of a soccer match. He followed up his Wednesday win over Arthur Fils with another big win over Cristian Garin. Fonseca is a 2024 University of Virginia commit who might rethink his career path after the Rio Open.

Michelsen defeated Alex de Minaur on Wednesday and faced Australian Jordan Thompson on Thursday. The 19-year-old American jumped out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead, but the crafty Thompson worked his way back into the match and won it. Michelsen will learn a lot from it and is not alone; Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff jumped out to first-set wins on Thursday only to lose their matches. It happens at all levels and is the beauty/misery of tennis.

Coco Gauff and Kim Clijsters also made tennis news this week

This week, it was revealed that Coco Gauff is among 12 women selected as Time magazine's 2024 Women of the Year. She is the only tennis player. Her contributions to the game and the world on and off the court were a factor in her selection. Gauff is only 19 years old and is just getting started so this is quite an accomplishment.

As the tennis world waits for word on Simona Halep's appeal to her four-year suspension, Kim Clijsters appeared on Andy Roddick's new podcast and shared her thoughts. She is uncomfortable with the fact that Halep's coach/team was in control of everything and believes they should bear responsibility and receive punishment for failed drug test. This raises questions about how the tennis player and coach/team relationship works; it is more focused than in a team sport. Is Simona's relationship with then-coach Patrick Mouratoglou typical?

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