By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Highly touted Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-2 1-6 6-3 in his Indian Wells debut on Thursday.
World number 80 Fonseca cruised through the first set before Fearnley found his groove in the second to level the match on a windy day in the California desert.
Fearnley, ranked only one spot below his Brazilian opponent, raced out to a 3-1 lead in the third before Fonseca stepped up his shotmaking to reel off the final five games and finished the match in style with a dazzling lunge volley at the net on match point.
“It’s a pleasure being here on center court at Indian Wells. It’s a dream,” said Fonseca, who a received a wildcard into the tournament.
“People call it the fifth Grand Slam and I can understand why. It’s literally a paradise. So I am really grateful. Today was pretty difficult, very windy and I got through so I’m very happy.”
There has been immense hype around 18-year-old after he beat Andrey Rublev in straight sets at the Australian Open for his first win over a top-10 opponent and won his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires last month.
He enjoyed the vocal support of the boisterous Brazilian fans on hand for the match at the ATP 1000 event.
“Everywhere I go there are some Brazilians watching and cheering for me,” he said.
Next up for Fonseca is another Briton, 13th seed Jack Draper.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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