“If I gave him one thing, it is to fight for what you want all the time,” his mother Flavia Junqueira explained to BBC Sport.

Looking at Joao Pedro’s story, that is exactly what he has had to do.

His mother, along with his grandmother, have largely brought him up.

Reports from Joao Pedro’s early childhood show his father, former Botafogo footballer Jose Joao de Jesus – more commonly known as Chicao – spent around eight years in prison after being charged as an accessory to murder and was rarely around.

Junqueira later separated from him and focused on her son’s footballing potential.

“Joao had a dream,” she said. “I shared that dream with my son. The dream didn’t have a price.”

Growing up in Ribeirao Preto, a nine-hour drive inland from Rio de Janeiro, Joao Pedro was eventually scouted by one of the city’s clubs Fluminense, along with a host of other leading Brazilian clubs.

Fluminense were regarded as the best option for the youngster’s development, who, like his father, began as a defensive midfielder before progressing further forward.

That choice was, however, fraught with difficulty.

Junqueira left her job, friends and family for Rio, and Joao Pedro “cried a lot” during the journey and in the weeks that followed because of homesickness.

Even in the academy, he was told he “wasn’t strong enough” and would not make it. Again, it made him cry.

But his mother, despite her increasingly limited means after leaving her job, hired a personal trainer for her son.

At first, he ate well and trained well only because she told him to. Eventually, however, the penny dropped.

“He was very skinny and there was a significant physical disparity between him and the other athletes in his age group,” his long-time personal trainer Rodrigo Goncalves told BBC Sport.

“He never stopped training. Sometimes he went a bit reluctantly, pushed by his mother, but he went.

“Over the years, however, that changed. He began to mature and understand that training wasn’t just something his mother required, but rather a tool to improve his performance, develop his body and build the physical balance needed for football.”

Joao Pedro became one of the stars of Fluminense’s academy and was spotted by Watford’s South America scout Rafa Monfort. A phone call from now-Tottenham striker Richarlison, who had made the same move, also proved crucial.

As a child, Joao Pedro was hooked on Premier League football, so the idea of moving to Watford appealed to him. However, it took around eight months to meet the Governing Body Endorsement criteria and secure a UK work permit.

Junqueira believes an overhead kick scored by Joao Pedro, then 17, against Cruzeiro in May 2019 helped convince decision-makers he was an exceptional talent worthy of the move.

When the family arrived in December 2019, Junqueira had not anticipated her bank cards would not work in England. However, then-Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, also Brazilian, took them under his wing and even bought them Christmas dinner.

A few months later, Covid and lockdown arrived, but Joao Pedro used the unprecedented period to focus on physical training with Goncalves again. He transformed his body by gaining around eight kilograms of body mass and became Premier League-ready.

After that period, he was no longer the little boy who cried, but a fully-fledged top-flight star capable of taking each step and challenge in his stride.

Roger Federer made a triumphant return to the US Open court with a pair of exhibition victories in front of an adoring Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd in New York on Tuesday.

The event, billed as “An Icon Returns to New York”, packed the stands with fans eager to watch the 45-year-old Swiss star face Andy Roddick, who is soon to turn 44, in a prime-time exhibition.

Federer defeated Roddick in an opening singles match before teaming up with John McEnroe to win a doubles exhibition against Roddick and Andre Agassi.

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, returned to the court at the US Open for the first time since 2019.

The Swiss legend won five consecutive US Open men’s singles titles between 2004 and 2008, tying Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors for the most in the Open era.

“It’s great to be back in New York,” Federer said. “It’s incredible.

“I have incredible memories of this court, the fans here and the city. In 2004 and 2005, that’s when it all started here, my love for New York, with the victories here.”

He added: “I fell in love with this city and this court from day one.

“I believe my first time on Centre Court was against Andre [Agassi] in 2001. He smashed me 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. I had no shot. I was like, ‘Okay, not so easy, not so fast, Roger.'”

Watch the US Open live from August 30 on Sky Sports Tennis. Stream tennis with NOW and the Sky Sports App.

It had been 504 days since Daniel James last scored for Leeds United before Tuesday night’s opener at Nottingham Forest.

It is a barren wait nobody could have anticipated when he slid the ball home inside two minutes at Middlesbrough in April 2025. Leeds were in the Championship and bearing down on a 100-point tally, which clinched the 2024-25 title. James was involved in 21 league goals that year, which saw him named on the three-player shortlist for Championship Player of the Season and crowned United’s Player of the Year.

His stock had never been higher at Elland Road. James was finally adding end product to his electric speed. He signed a new four-year contract that July, and it was hoped he would carry that momentum into last season’s Premier League return.

The Wales international would ultimately play just 559 league minutes. As Daniel Farke pointed out after the 2-0 Carabao Cup win in Nottingham on Tuesday night, Leeds failed to score at any point he was on the field in the league. That is not a statistic which has seen much airtime, but the manager’s comments indicated it had become a talking point inside the club.

“I’m so unbelievably happy for Daniel James because he’s a brilliant player and an even better human being,” he told his post-match press conference. “It was such a tough last season with many injuries (for him).

“We had the topic (that) we have not scored one goal once he was on the pitch last season (in the league), and it’s like he knew this. And he himself has not scored a goal in ages.

“How important it is for him to stay fit and sharp, and also his confidence, he has proven today because he had a really good pre-season and looked sharp in the games, no injuries, could work hard, could bring his body in a really good position.

“Of course, after such a year when you know the team has never scored a goal when you are on the pitch, it’s realistic to say the chances don’t come around that often. If they come around, you have to grab them with both hands. This is what he did today.”

James strikes against Forest (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Injuries effectively wiped out any chance James had of making a mark last season. He went from being one of the star men, one of the first names on Farke’s teamsheet in 2024-25, to a non-entity in 2025-26. He was even clearly conscious of how blunt the team was with him on the field.

There were shorter absences for core, ankle and adductor issues over the course of the year, but a hamstring problem, which wiped out December and January, was the killer blow. He picked up that injury in the visit to Manchester City, when Farke memorably switched formation and transformed the club’s season.

James watched on as the manager used 5-3-2, 3-5-2 and 3-4-2-1 formations to push the club away from danger. He returned to the bench in February and made do with cameos, but did not start again until May 11’s dead rubber at Tottenham Hotspur, after Leeds had guaranteed their top-flight status.

The winger has had the chance to rebuild himself at Leeds this summer. Wales failed to qualify for the World Cup, which gave him a full break and meant he returned for pre-season on day one.

The first step was avoiding injury and playing a key part in the summer friendlies. He did that and has at least put himself in a position to consider where he plays in this system.

James has built his career as a winger with rapid pace. Last season, only 11 players recorded higher speeds than his top recording of 36.13 kilometres per hour in the Premier League. And yet, Farke has not regularly used conventional wingers since November 2025.

This summer, James was used as the left-sided attacking midfielder behind a striker in the 3-4-2-1. Then, last night, he was stationed as the right wing-back in the same formation, but Farke said they created a unique role for him.

“He was excellent,” he said. “We tried to create a bit of a role for him today, which was probably not invented in football so far, because he was not a winger, he was not a wing-back, he was something in between.

“Against the ball and also in possession, excellent, a very all-round game and I’m so happy. This will be a big boost for his confidence, for his rhythm.

“(This was) one of the most important things (from) today, next to going through into the next round.”

How does James make himself a fixture for Leeds in this system? Jayden Bogle has cemented his role as the right-sided wing-back. James can offer an attacking outlet, but he will always struggle defensively.

Perhaps his best bet will be in that left-sided attacking role, where he can cut in and be the attacker he naturally wants to be. Brenden Aaronson started there on Saturday, but has struggled for consistency over his time at Leeds.

Noah Okafor is, arguably, the club’s best player there, but his pre-season started late after Switzerland’s World Cup run and his own injury record is patchy. The club’s ongoing interest in Mykhailo Mudryk, among others in that mould, underlines Farke’s appetite for something better there.

It’s a big ask for James, but he has to aim for something in this team. He won’t want to wave another season past from the sidelines. He took what felt like his first step forward in a long time on Tuesday night.