Joao Fonseca encouraged after Jannik Sinner’s Indian Wells defeat: ‘The quality is there’ | ATP Tour

Match the Reaction

Fonseca encouraged after Sinner defeat: ‘The quality is there’

The Brazilian had three first set points but lost in straight sets

March 11, 2026

Ever since he won in Rio de Janeiro in 2024, the tennis world has been asking the same question: Can Joao Fonseca challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s reign one day?

The young Brazilian has taken that conversation forward ever since. Fonseca closed the 2024 season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals title, becoming just the third 18-year-old to lift the trophy after Alcaraz and Sinner. He carried that momentum into 2025, picking up tour-level trophies in Buenos Aires and Basel to further reinforce the belief that he can join the sport’s new elite.

On Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open, Fonseca finally measured himself against one of those benchmarks: Sinner. The Italian emerged with a hard-fought 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) victory, but the 19-year-old left the court inspired by the way he competed against the World No.

“I can play with them. I can make good plays. But there are always small things, small important things that you need to work on every day,” said Fonseca.

“I mean those little details are very important, like when he plays important points, how you deal with it. So I still need a lot of experience, but I think the level is still there. Yes, I can play with them. [There are] many things to improve, but I feel happy with the way I played, because I felt that the level is very close today.”

Fonseca pushed Sinner hard in the first doubles meeting of the Lexus ATP Head2Head. He held three points in the first break at 6/3 but could not convert and led 4/3 at the second-tie-break break.

Afterwards, the Brazilian praised Sinner’s ability to get the best out of big moments.

“I think he puts a lot of pressure… He scored a lot of active points, a lot of important points. I would say that he always puts a lot of pressure when he’s nervous. When he’s strong, he puts a lot of pressure. It doesn’t matter the time. He hits the ball a lot,” said Fonseca.

“You can feel the ball, it’s very heavy. That’s what I felt, the intensity of the game. It’s every game, 100 percent, you need to stay ready, always focus. That’s the big difference, I think the intensity, the way he plays the important points.”

Fonseca, who has never faced Alcaraz, enjoyed a remarkable week in Indian Wells, where he reached the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. The No. 35 player in the PIF ATP Rankings dispatched Tommy Paul in straight sets, saved two match points en route to beating Karen Khachanov and breezed past Raphael Collignon in his opening match.

“As a tennis player, I can say that when we lose, we feel sad or disappointed sometimes, we try to find out what I did right, what I didn’t do wrong. “Personally, I don’t usually think that I should be angry with myself when I play well, when I do everything good, and the enemy has honor.”