Indian Wells, March 7
Joao Fonseca pulled a stern first-round test from Jacob Fearnley in Indian Wells to add a maiden Paribas Open win to his breakout 2025 season on Friday (IST).
The Brazilian prevailed 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy battle against Britain’s Fearnley. In windy conditions, the 18-year-old trailed 1-3 in the deciding set but then reeled off five straight games to earn his second ATP Masters 1000 match win and his first on a hard court, ATP reports.
With his two-hour victory in Indian Wells, Fonseca set a second-round clash with 13th seed Jack Draper.
Within the past three months, Fonseca has triumphed at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals and lifted his maiden tour-level title in Buenos Aires, either side of upsetting Andrey Rublev for his first main-draw win at a major at the Australian Open.
After pulling away and taking the opening set 6-2, Fonseca had to hold on tight in the second. He saved two break points and wiggled through a five-deuce game to hold for one-all but he couldn’t get through his next service game.
Fearnley had a break for 3-1 and he quickly consolidated for 4-1. In the ensuing games the Brit, who finished with a whopping 23 forehand winners on the day. He closed out the second set in style and continued to hold sway over the run of play in the third.