March 10, 2026; Indian Wells, California, USA; Joao Fonseca (BRA) hits a shot against Jannik Sinner (ITA) during the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Image Rising 19-year-old star Joao Fonseca showed on Tuesday that he belongs on tennis’ biggest stage, despite his shortcomings.
The young Brazilian player faced second-seeded Yannick Sinner (Italy) in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells, California, but lost 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4).
In the first-ever matchup between the players, Fonseca squandered three set points in the first set tiebreaker while Sinner escaped a 6-3 hole to win 8-6.
Sinner went up 5-2 in the second set but failed to seal the win. Fonseca broke serve and won 4-5 before forcing another tiebreaker. Sinner eventually won the final four points to advance to the quarterfinals.
Asked about the ceiling for Fonseca, who is ranked 35th in the world after winning two tournaments last year, Sinner said: “You can’t predict the future. I don’t know. I believe he is a very high-quality player.”
“We all saw this. Now that I’ve finally played with him, I’m confident he’s going to do great things in the future. But, you know, there’s a lot of work to do as I’m working on it and we’ve all been working on it. You know, things can change. He’s got everything he needs to be. Yes, he’s got everything he needs to be an amazing player. He already has been that, but even more so. I wish him the best.”
About frustration, Fonseca said, “As tennis players, you could say that when we lose, sometimes we feel sad or disappointed, and we try to figure out what I did, what I did wrong. But of course, I’m happy with the way I played.”
“As for myself, I don’t usually think there’s a need to get angry at myself when I’ve done well, when I’ve done everything well and the opponent has given credit… As I said, I’m happy with the way I played, but of course there are things I need to work on.”
Sinner finished the match with more winners (37-27) and fewer unforced errors (24-21) than Fonseca.
“Small details like when he plays important points and how he reacts are very important,” Fonseca said. “Of course I need and still need a lot of experience, but I think the level is still there. … Of course there is more room to improve, but I’m happy with the way I played because I felt the level was pretty close today.”
Sinner’s quarterfinal opponent will be 25th seed Learner Tien of the United States, who defeated 18th seed Alejandro Davidovic Fokina of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).
“It was a very tough match,” Tien said. “Coming out didn’t really feel good. Honestly, I felt like my energy levels were a little low, but I just stayed and started again for the third time and thought I was doing a great job and was happy to get through.”
The other quarterfinal pits fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev against 30th-seeded Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Zverev defeated 21st-seeded Francis Tiafoe (USA) 6-3, 6-4, while Phils defeated 9th-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 7-6 (9). Auger-Aliassime squandered five set points in the second-set tiebreaker.
–Field level media
