By Shrivathsa Sridhar MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Endless queues outside Melbourne Park's 1573 Arena on a sunny Thursday afternoon gave casual fans the impression that a Grand Slam champion was in action, but a quick peek inside revealed the carnival atmosphere and explained the interest.

João Fonseca has definitively introduced himself to the world as the latest teen sensation in men’s tennis by upsetting No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Australian Open.

Teenage rising star Joao Fonseca said nerves got the better of him after being bundled out of the Australian Open by Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a five-set thriller on Thursday.

Fonseca has long looked like a star-in-waiting. Under pressure in his first Grand Slam set, he delivered beyond those lofty expectations

The 18-year-old produced a stunning first-round victory over world number nine Andrey Rublev in the first round in Melbourne before losing in five sets to Lorenzo Sonego at the next stage

Italy's Lorenzo Sonego beat Brazilian Joao Fonseca, widely considered the rising star of international tennis, 6-7 6-3 6-1 3-6 6-3 on Thursday to reach the third round of the Australian Open. Lorenzo Musetti is also in the third round after beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6,

Fonseca was part of the 2024 lineup alongside Fils and Luca Van Assche of France; Michelsen, eventual finalist Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy of the U.S.; Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic and Shang Juncheng of China, who also goes by his Americanized name, Jerry Shang.