Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Brazilian teen sensation Joao Fonseca tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters on Saturday, beaten 6-4, 6-0 by 13th-seeded Jack Draper of Britain. Spurged on by an enthusiastic contingent of Brazilian fans, the 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro kept it close in the first set. But he paid a price for taking too many risks against a more physical and experienced opponent, and Draper, a US Open semi-finalist last year, strung together nine straight games to secure the win.
Draper, slowed early this season by a flare-up of hip tendinitis, said the match was tougher than the scoreline might indicate. “Obviously Joao’s got a lot of eyeballs on him, young player coming through, causing a lot of noise,” he said. “I was expecting a really tough match, and it was. The scoreline would suggest potentially otherwise. But I felt like the first set we were both playing some really good tennis. He was hitting some really powerful shots.”
Related news
It was tough to sort of get a feel of the match,” Draper added. “But then I felt like towards the end of the first set my energy picked up. I started to feel like tactically I was aware of a few more things. I just was able to get on top of him in the second set and run away with it a little bit.”
Fonseca arrived in Indian Wells just weeks after he became the 10th-youngest ATP champion in history when he triumphed at the Argentina Open in February. He had secured his first Masters 1000-level match win on Thursday with a gritty victory over Britain’s Jacob Fearnley. He was thrilled to be congratulated on that win by 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, who touted the youngster as a potential star.
“He has the potential to be really a superstar of this game, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “Coming from Brazil also, one of the biggest countries in the world, where they love tennis, love sports, very passionate people. It would be amazing for also our sport to have a Brazilian superstar, first really big superstar since Gustavo ‘Guga’ Kuerten, that was an idol of so many kids.”
In the third round, Draper will take on American Jenson Brooksby, who upset in-form Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2.
© 2024 AFP
