Jannik Sinner sees no reason why Joao Fonseca can’t do ‘great things in the future’ after playing the Brazilian for the first time in Indian Wells on Wednesday.
The world No.2 was taken to two closely contested sets before securing a 7-6(6), 7-6(4), victory in the desert. Sinner was unable to break Fonseca during the first set and then had to save three consecutive set points in the tiebreaker before sealing the opener. Then, in the second frame, he lost a 5-2 lead before having to recover from being down a mini-break in the second tiebreak.
Fonseca, who is five years younger than Sinner, has been tipped as a future star of the sport after a breakthrough 2025 season in which he won his first two ATP titles. However, his start to this year hasn’t gone too smoothly, with the 19-year-old only winning one match across three tournaments before finding his form in Indian Wells.
“He definitely has similar qualities to what I have and what I have evolved in the last years, but at the same time, I do see some different things he’s doing slightly better at times,” Sinner said of his opponent.
“I believe every player is different. He’s going through his way of approaching this sport, and I have mine. But he’s in very good hands. He has a great team around him and a very hard-working kid. It was a really good matchup.”
Speaking more specifically about his game, Sinner believes Fonseca’s fearlessness is one of his best qualities, as well as other things. Before their showdown, the Brazilian secured back-to-back wins over 23rd seed Tommy Paul and 16th seed Karen Khachanov.
“He likes to go for shots. He is very aggressive. Has a great mentality,” Sinner analysed.
“I don’t know him very well off the court, but he seems like a very humble player. He’s gonna be very, very tough to beat. He’s already very tough to beat, but in the future, even more so.
“It’s good for the sport. It’s definitely good for the sport having him, having Learner (Tien) also, very consistent, incredible players.”
Sinner has now won 96 matches at Masters 1000 events, which is more than any other Italian player in history. This year’s Indian Wells is the 19th time he has reached the last eight of a tournament in this category. He is now 62-1 against players ranked outside the top 20 since the start of 2024.
At the age of 24, Sinner still has plenty of time to break more records. But how wary should he be about Fonseca in the future?
“He’s a very, very high-quality player. Now I have finally played against him, and I’m very sure he’s going to do some great things in the future.” He concluded.
Sinner will next play another rising star in the shape of Learner Tien. Tien defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) to become the youngest American man to reach an Indian Wells quarter-final since his coach, Michael Chang,
