Jaime Faria might just now be finding his footing on the ATP tour. He's worked through qualifying at majors and grinded through Challenger events and only had a record of 7-6 entering this week's Estoril Open. Still, he's trending up.
So what's his new secret? To hear the Portuguese player tell it, it has to do with his hair. More specifically, Faria's newfound power comes from the same source that, according to the player, football stars Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimović have and had, respectively.
Faria literally said, "I’m just citing Haaland and Ibra, two football stars!"
Jaime Faria evokes the name of Erling Haaland and Zlatan Ibrahimović
Haaland has seen his own rise lately, of course. Not in terms of excellence in the sport he plays because he was already elite. But during the World Cup, his natural charisma and playfulness translated to an American audience in an unexpected way. Before the World Cup, he was known to football fans in the United States, but during and after, he became a superstar.
Does that means loads of Americans will begin watching Manchester City matches? Probably not.
As for Zlatan Ibrahimović, he might have had an even smaller following in the US than did Haaland, as the latter is a current player and English Premier League games are easier to find in the States now. Ibrahimović spent a lot of his career in La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. Great leagues, but harder to find than the EPL, especially now.
The throughline, according to Faria, between the tennis player and the football stars is their hair. All three have a good amount of it, though with different styles. Is that truly the source of their athletic greatness? Not really, but it is a funny idea by Faria, and a historical one, too. After all, the story of Samson has been around for thousands of years, and we all know what happened there.
While Erling Haaland prepares for the new Man City season that begins in August, and Zlatan Ibrahimović does whatever he does in retirement, Jaime Faria is still trying to rise up the rankings on the ATP tour.
The Portuguese No. 2 reached a career-high of No. 87 in February of 2025, but he's currently No. 88, and with any kind of success at the Estoril Open (he won his first-round match by defeating sixth-seed Botic van de Zandschulp and plays in the round of 16 on Thursday), he will move into the top-80 in the live rankings. Tennis fans can assume he won't be cutting his hair soon.
