CNN
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Only a few years ago, João Fonseca was a young tennis fan eager to collect autographs from the world’s top players. Now, kids are starting to queue up for his signature.
The 18-year-old is fast becoming one of the most exciting talents in men’s tennis, and on Thursday, he continued to impress with an opening-round victory against Britain’s Jacob Fearnley at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
It was by no means easy for Fonseca, who battled windy conditions and trailed 3-1 in the deciding set before coming from behind to win 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Only his second victory at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament, the Brazilian had to demonstrate the sort of composure and tenacity that is fast earning him popularity with fans.
“Everything is new for me – I’m still young and I’m still getting used to this,” Fonseca told reporters after the match. “But seeing people – not just Brazilians but from all over the world – cheering for me and calling my name, wanting autographs … It’s very nice to see those kids and people watching me.”
After winning the first title of his young career at the Argentina Open last month, Fonseca has started to gain attention from all the right people.
“(It) seems like there is a very good level of balance and professionalism and devotion, like what we have seen for the last couple years with (Carlos) Alcaraz,” Novak Djokovic said prior to competing at Indian Wells.
The victory against Fearnley, and the manner in which he reeled off the last five games of the match in high-pressure circumstances, will only earn Fonseca more praise from the sport’s biggest names.
He raced into an early lead with two breaks of serve and claimed the first set of the match with a forehand winner into an open court after Fearnley had stretched to make a return.
However, the world No. 81, ranked just one spot below Fonseca, raised his level and responded well in the second set to level the contest. He then secured an early break in the decider and backed it up by holding his serve in the following game.
But a double fault saw Fonseca draw level at 3-3 before he powered through the remainder of the set, wrapping up the victory in two hours with a well-angled backhand volley.
“The first round of a Masters, it was windy, I was playing against a great guy – it was difficult conditions, but I got through, so I’m very happy with the way I fought today,” said Fonseca.
He will now face another British player, world No. 14 Jack Draper, in the second round at Indian Wells. A deep run in California would continue Fonseca’s breakthrough year having previously knocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev out of the Australian Open in January. A month earlier, he became the second-youngest winner of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia – a tournament for the best men’s players aged 20 and under.
Elsewhere, Australian Nick Kyrgios’ latest bid to reignite his career was thwarted by a right wrist injury in his first-round match against the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp.
Injuries have plagued Kyrgios’ progress in recent years, and he is now without a Tour-level win since October 2022. The former Wimbledon finalist retired while trailing 7-6 (7), 3-0 against van de Zandschulp after having held a set point in the first-set tie-break. As a result, the Aussie misses out on a second-round clash against Djokovic.
Kyrgios appeared tearful at the end of the match, later explaining that he had experienced a flare-up of a recurring wrist injury during practice two days earlier.
“No one in the sport’s had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that,” Kyrgios told reporters after the match. “There have been players that have had wrist surgeries, (but) nowhere near as bad as what I’ve had.
“It’s all an experiment at this point,” he added, saying he was unsure when he would next be able to play. “I was told that I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again.”
The first round of matches at Indian Wells continues on Friday, with men’s top seed Alexander Zverev in action against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
