Fonseca Triumphs Over Fearnley in Indian Wells Debut
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Synopsis
Joao Fonseca triumphed over Jacob Fearnley in a thrilling first-round match at the Indian Wells tournament, marking his first victory at the Paribas Open during his remarkable 2025 season.
Key Takeaways
- Fonseca won his first Paribas Open match.
- He faced a tough challenge from Jacob Fearnley.
- The match featured dramatic swings in momentum.
- This marks Fonseca's second ATP Masters 1000 victory.
- He is set to face Jack Draper in the next round.
Indian Wells, March 7 (NationPress) Joao Fonseca faced a challenging first-round encounter against Jacob Fearnley at Indian Wells, securing his first-ever Paribas Open victory in what has been a breakthrough 2025 season. The Brazilian athlete emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in a match characterized by ups and downs against Britain's Fearnley. Despite facing windy conditions and trailing 1-3 in the final set, the 18-year-old managed to string together five consecutive games, marking his second ATP Masters 1000 match win and his initial victory on hard courts, according to ATP reports.
With this two-hour win at Indian Wells, Fonseca has set up a second-round showdown with 13th seed Jack Draper.
In the past three months, Fonseca has celebrated victories at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals and won his first tour-level title in Buenos Aires, alongside his remarkable upset against Andrey Rublev for his first main-draw win at a major during the Australian Open.
After taking the opening set 6-2, Fonseca needed to dig deep in the second. He saved two break points and navigated through a five-deuce scenario to hold serve for 1-all, but he struggled to maintain his service game thereafter.
Fearnley managed to break for 3-1 and quickly consolidated to 4-1. Throughout the match, the Brit demonstrated his skill, ending with an impressive 23 forehand winners. He wrapped up the second set convincingly and continued to press the advantage in the third.
After breaking for 2-1, Fearnley’s 17th forehand winner of the match provided him with game points to extend to 3-1. However, Fonseca regained control, ultimately sealing the victory with a stunning backhand volley winner, concluding the match in two hours.
This marks Fonseca's seventh tour-level win of the season, having successfully converted four out of seven break points he encountered, as noted by ATP Stats.
In other matches, Canadian Lucky Loser Gabriel Diallo saved two match points to defeat China’s Zhang Zhizhen with scores of 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) on Stadium 3.
Also advancing was Jakub Mensik, 19, who overcame Tomas Martin Etcheverry with a score of 6-4, 7-6(6) and will face 22nd-seeded Karen Khachanov next.
