Joao Fonseca was left impressed by how Jannik Sinner reacted to being nervous during their Indian Wells match.
Sinner and Fonseca played out a thrilling two-hour contest in the desert, where the former beat the latter 7-6(8-6), 7-6(7-4).
The Indian Wells tie represented their very first meeting on the ATP Tour, and may just have set a precedent for what is to come.
Fonseca was full of praise for Sinner before their match, with the Brazilian now making further comment on the Italian afterwards.
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Joao Fonseca says Jannik Sinner piles on the pressure when he’s nervous
When asked if the overriding emotion is pride or disappointment after the loss, Fonseca said: “As a tennis player, I can say that when we lose, we kind of feel sad or disappointed sometimes, trying to figure out what I did right, what I did wrong.
“But of course I’m happy the way that I played. For myself, I don’t normally think that I need to be mad at myself when I played good, when I did everything good, and the opponent has the credit.
“Yeah, I just try to figure out what I could do better. Maybe I could serve better in the 6-5 in the tiebreak that I had.
“I don’t know. It’s always an ‘if’ that we, I mean, we can’t change the past, so we need to focus on the future. I mean, I’m happy the way that I played, like I said, but of course there are some things to work on.”
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And giving his take on the aspect of Sinner’s game that caused him the most trouble, Fonseca said: “I think he puts a lot of pressure, not only the serves… well, today he served pretty well.
“He won a lot of points serving, a lot of important points, as well. I would say he puts a lot of pressure every time when he’s nervous.
“When he’s tight, he puts a lot of pressure. Doesn’t matter the time. He hits the ball strongly. Yeah, so he puts a lot of pressure.
“You don’t think sometimes he’s tight, because you can feel it, you can feel the ball, just heavy, but yeah, I mean, that’s a thing that I felt, intensity of the game.
“It’s pretty, all the games, like, 100%, you need to be always ready, always focused. Yeah, that’s the main difference, I think the intensity, the way that he plays important points.
“Of course the consistency, he normally doesn’t do unforced errors. Yeah, that’s the thing that was the main difference from today, as well.”
| Joao Fonseca | Jannik Sinner | |
| 27 | Winners | 37 |
| 9 | Aces | 15 |
| 15/31 (48%) | 2nd serve return points won | 10/24 (42%) |
| 42/57 (74%) | 1st serve points won | 38/44 (86%) |
| 14/24 (58%) | 2nd serve points won | 16/31 (52%) |
| 57/81 (70%) | First serve | 44/75 (59%) |
| 24 | Unforced errors | 21 |
| 6/44 (14%) | 1st serve return points won | 15/57 (26%) |
| 1/2 (50%) | Break points converted | 1/4 (25%) |
| 3 | Double faults | 1 |
| 3/4 (75%) | Break points saved | 1/2 (50%) |
| 3/4 (75%) | Net points won | 6/7 (86%) |
Joao Fonseca says if he’s close to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
The match was a fantastic chance for Fonseca to test himself against Sinner, who along with Carlos Alcaraz has dominated men’s tennis for some time.
The Brazilian has often been mentioned as a player capable of challenging their dominance, which he also discussed afterwards.
“Well, I think the level, my level, it’s pretty, like, I mean, I can play against them,” he said. “I can do some great matches.
“But there is always the little things, the little important things that you need to work every day. I mean, those little details just super important, like when he played the important points, like how he deals with it.
“So of course a lot of experience, I still need it, but I think the level is still there. Of course far, but I can play against them.
“I mean, of course much more things to improve, but I feel happy the way that I played, because I felt the level was pretty close today.”
| Age | Career-high rank | Titles | Win-loss | Prize money | |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 1 | 26 | 292 – 65 | $63,933,973 |
| Jannik Sinner | 24 | 1 | 24 | 328 – 88 | $58,878,696 |
| Joao Fonseca | 19 | 24 | 2 | 39 – 27 | $2,826,835 |
When asked if playing Sinner for the first time met his expectations, he said: “I mean, I wanted to win, of course, but like I said, I was happy the way that I played, because I put a lot of pressure.
“I think the rallies were good. I was putting pressure the way that I wanted, and yeah, I served well, I tried to do the returns that I could.
“But he was serving well, as well. So, I mean, I think I kind of managed to… I mean, my expectations were okay.
“I was just trying to put what I could in the court and trying to see how it is. Of course I saw some opportunities, so I got a little bit more with a little bit of expectations, because you’re playing against ex-top 1 guy.
“But yeah, like I say, the level was there, but the good things that I need to work with a lot of things to reach this level.”
At 19, Fonseca has plenty of time to achieve his desired improvements, although at the same time Sinner and Alcaraz are also likely to improve.
But his display against the Italian is certainly a great starting point, while the Brazilian is yet to meet the Spaniard on the ATP Tour.
Sinner now moves on to an Indian Wells quarterfinal against Learner Tien, while Alcaraz meets Casper Ruud in the round of 16.
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