Joao Fonseca proves his level is ‘pretty close’ in Indian Wells thriller with Jannik Sinner

Joao Fonseca walked away from a thriller against No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner feeling encouraged, even though the result didn't go his way Tuesday evening at the BNP Paribas Open.

Fonseca’s first meeting with Sinner lived up to the hype: In a tightly contested match on a rocking Court One, Sinner edged ahead for a straight-sets victory, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4).

Afterward, the world No. 2 had plenty of praise for Fonseca. While acknowledging that “everyone is different,” Sinner said that playing the Brazilian sometimes felt like playing a version of himself.

“He definitely has similar qualities to what I have and what I have evolved in the last years,” Sinner told press after the match. “But at the same time, I do see some different things he's doing slightly better at times, things what I do better at times."

Read More: Joao Fonseca and the sophomore season

“I do believe every player is different," Sinner added. "He's going through his way of how approaching this sport, and I have mine.

"But he's in very good hands. He has a great, great team around him and a very hard-working kid. It was a really good matchup.”

Fonseca has long been tipped for greatness, and after surviving the Brazilian’s upset bid, Sinner sounded bullish about his future.

“I do believe he's very, very high-quality player,” the Italian concluded. “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.”

For his part, Fonseca believes his level is already close—though he knows there is still work to be done if he wants to consistently compete with the sport’s elite, including Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

“I think my level… I can play against them. I can do some great matches,” Fonseca said.

“There is always the little important things that you need to work every day. Those little details are just super important, like when he played the important points and how he deal with it. (He has) 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 feel happy the way that I played, because I felt the level was pretty close today.”

It was also a learning experience for the 19-year-old, who had his chances during their round-of-16 encounter. Fonseca held a 6-3 lead in the first-set tiebreak before Sinner saved three set points. In the second set, the Brazilian rallied from 2-5 down to force another tiebreak.

Each time, however, Sinner raised his level in the key moments to escape trouble.

Still, there is plenty to look forward to for Fonseca, who focused on the positives after the match.

“As a tennis player, 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,” Fonseca said.

“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. I just try to figure out what I could do better.”

Read More: Learner Tien finds “second gear” to save two match points vs. Davidovich Fokina in Indian Wells

With the victory, Sinner moves into the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open, where he is seeking his first title in the California desert.

He will face No. 25 seed Learner Tien next on Thursday. The 20-year-old American earlier defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) to advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.