Watch out Wimbledon - 'loud' Brazilians to take over as Joao Fonseca fever spreads

Wimbledon is home to arguably the most polite crowd on the tennis tour. Those lucky enough to get tickets through the ballot or the queue applaud modestly after points and stay whisper-quiet in the middle of a rally, not daring to heckle a player.

But they better watch out, the Brazilian fans are coming. Teenage sensation Joao Fonseca will face British No. 2 Jacob Fearnley in the first round on Court 1 on Monday, and the world No. 54 has been causing a stir wherever he goes.

At the recent French Open, Brazilian fans snaked around the grounds and queued for upwards of an hour to catch a glimpse of the 18-year-old rising star. And Fonseca knows they'll be making their mark at the All England Club, even if they don't fit in with the vibe.

"They're not going to be as fancy as Wimbledon," he said of his supporters. "They're going to be a little bit loud, but it's going to be nice.

"Everywhere I go there are Brazilians watching. and it's super nice to have this support from your own country. I hope some Brazilians are going to come to Wimbledon to cheer."

Once a shy young boy, the Buenos Aires champion thrives in front of a raucous crowd, and he will be hoping the samba can drown out the British fans when he faces Fearnley on his Wimbledon main draw debut - especially if they can find a way to get onto the ticketed showcourt.

Fonseca added: "For sure [they help me]. When things are difficult and you need some support, you call on them and they support you. When you need them, they're there. I was playing with a crowd since I was young, because I came from a club, I played tournaments there and there were a lot of people. I was a very shy person, I didn't like it in the beginning but I understood how to play."

And after being scheduled to face Fearnley on Court 1, Fonseca warned the British fans: "It's difficult to be as loud the Brazilians! But yeah, hopefully there's going to be some Brazilians looking up and cheering for me. But for sure it's going to be a good match. Jacob is a nice friend and a nice player. Even on Court 1, it's just going to be a dream playing my first match here in Wimbledon."

From R9 and Kaka to Neymar and Vini Jr, the Brazilian sports fanatics have plenty to cheer about when it comes to football. But Fonseca is their only big hope on the men's tennis tour.

"It's the culture. We don't have a lot of tennis players, so when Brazilians see promise... it's the same in soccer," the 18-year-old said of the hype, though there can be downsides.

"When you see promise, (a player) achieving some great things, they follow so much and sometimes that brings expectations.

"I already saw a lot of Brazilian soccer players doing very great when they were young and sometimes it just... money, fans, they don't evolve very much. Sometimes it's good, the fans being around, but it can be dangerous.

"I think with my base life. My family, my team, the people who are closest to me, they help me to stay with a good maturity to understand what I need to do to be a better person and a better player. But at the same time, I still need to be cautious about what is going.

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"I'm young - I'm getting money, I'm playing Wimbledon, but I need to be the same person I always was: stay humble, stay focused in my routine and what is my dream - to become world No. 1. That's my goal, not to be rich or whatever. I just want to focus on my work and do the right thing."

Fonseca may have his army of supporters, but Scottish-born Fearnley, who attended American college Texas Christian University, has his own secret weapon. The official TCU mascot is the horned frog, and the world No. 51 channels the blood-spitting animal on the court.

"It's real, it's actually a lizard. It's called a horn frog, but it's a lizard. There's some in Texas and I think South America. It basically spits blood from its eyes when it's threatened. So that's why some of our mantras are like spit blood," the Brit explained.

The Brazilian samba vs the blood-spitting horned frog. Court 1 won't know what hit it.