Jannik Sinner reveals ‘humble kid’ Joao Fonseca’s best qualities after Indian Wells Open clash
Jannik Sinner passed the Joao Fonseca test at the Indian Wells Open and he admitted afterwards that the “humble kid” is “gonna be very, very tough to beat” in future.
The first-ever career meeting between the two went Sinner’s way as the Italian won in straight sets, but he was given a scare in both sets as the rising star found himself ahead in the tie-breakers.
After no breaks of serve in the opening set, Fonseca had two mini breaks in the tie-breaker for a 4-2 lead, but the world No 2 immediately claimed one break back and then saved a couple of set points on his own serve before two more mini breaks put him ahead.
The pair shared a couple of breaks midway during the second set before Fonseca once again edged 3-2 ahead with a mini break, but Sinner clawed back and closed the match with a double break after two hours.
“Joao is an incredible player, incredible talent, very powerful from both sides. He was serving very well,” the second seed said during his on-court interview. “I felt like trying to be as aggressive as possible was the key. I dropped a bit of intensity at the end of the second set but he played incredible tennis out there.
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There is no doubt that the 19-year-old Fonseca will be one of the stars of the future as he has already won two ATP Tour singles titles and peaked at No 24 in the ATP Rankings.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Sinner was asked the Brazilian’s best qualities and replied: “I think he is fearless. He likes to go for shots. He is very aggressive. Has a great mentality.
“You know, I feel like he’s, as I said, in really good hands with his team. They are having very positive approach, you know, of tennis, which this is very important for especially young players.
“I don’t know him very well off the court, but he seems like a very humble kid, humble player. Yeah, for sure he’s gonna be very, very tough to beat. He’s already very tough to beat, but even in the future, even more so.
“It’s good. It’s good for the sport. It’s definitely good for the sport having him, having Learner [Tien] also, very consistent, incredible players. It’s good.”
Many believe Fonseca will not only challenge for Grand Slams, but also the world No 1 ranking and Sinner was asked “how far do you think he can go?”
“I cannot predict the future. I don’t know. I do believe he’s very, very high-quality player,” the Italian said.
“We all saw this. Now I have finally played against him, and I’m very sure he’s going to do some great things in the future.
“But, you know, there is a lot of work, as I put in, as we all put in. You know, things can change. He has everything what’s needed, yeah, to be an incredible player, which he is already but even more so. I wish him only the best.”
