Four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner defeated rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) in a thrilling match that propelled the Italian into the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells tournament. The first meeting between the world number two and the 19-year-old sensation lived up to expectations, with a superb performance that drew constant applause from the huge Brazilian crowd. Sinner will now face another promising young player, 20-year-old American Learner Tien, for a place in the semi-finals.
The match
Fonseca faced the Italian in a tense first set, but failed to capitalize on his only break point opportunity, while Sinner wasted two. A pair of uncharacteristic errors from Sinner helped Fonseca take a 6-3 lead in the tie-break, but the Italian responded, denying a set point with an ace that sparked a five-point comeback and closed out the first set.
In the second set, Sinner seemed destined for a comfortable victory at 4-2, but Fonseca put on a show and showed no intention of giving up. He broke Sinner’s serve in the ninth game and held serve at 5-5 before the second tiebreaker. An ace gave Fonseca a 4-3 lead in the tie-break, but Sinner showed his class once again, winning four consecutive points and sealing the victory with a masterful forehand return.
“I thought the key was to try to be as aggressive as possible,” said Sinner, who is seeking his first title at the prestigious Masters 1000 in the California desert. «Joao has an incredible talent, he is very powerful on both fronts. He was serving very well. Maybe he gave up a little at the end of the second set, but I’m very happy to have passed”, added the Italian tennis player.