Sinner vs. Fonseca: Tennis May Have a New Rivalry to Savor

If Jannik Sinner and Joao Fonseca are going to play this type of high-octane tennis in their future meetings, get your popcorn ready.

Sinner won the first edition of what very well could be one of the sport’s better rivalries, edging the 19-year-old Brazilian in two tight sets, 7-6(6), 7-6(4). Judging by the intensity of the exchanges and the run of play, it could easily have gone to three—and potentially in Fonseca’s favor.

“Joao is an incredible player, incredible talent, very powerful from both sides. He was serving very well,” Sinner said on court after the win. “I felt like trying to be as aggressive as possible was the key. I dropped a bit of intensity at the end of the second set but he played incredible tennis out there. The atmosphere has been amazing, so I’m very happy about today’s match.”

In one of the most raucous night session environments in recent memory at the BNP Paribas Open, Sinner used his experience to wiggle out of trouble in the business end of both sets.

In an opening set that stayed on serve, he saved a trio of set points, winning five consecutive points from 6-3 down in the breaker to stun the Brazilian fans.

The setback seemed to deflate Fonseca for a spell—but not for long, and not by much.

After falling behind by a break, he played one of the most scintillating return games of the tournament to break Sinner for 5-all, soon pushing the set to another tiebreak.

Again, it was Sinner racing away.

The Italian went from 3-2 down to 7-4 up in a heartbeat, and the “silent assassin” took the first meeting to set a quarterfinal with American Learner Tien.

“Man, is he fun to watch. Man, does he have a bright future. Man, did he scare Jannik Sinner tonight, and thrill the crowd,” said Jim Courier, who commentated the match for Tennis Channel. “He is good for tennis and we are lucky to have him in our sport. These Brazilian fans, they will travel and they are awesome.”

Despite the loss, it was the best performance of the season by Fonseca, and a sign that he may be ready to resume his rise after spending months dealing with a back injury.

The two-hour and one-minute contest left fans wanting more—hopefully, we’ll get the next edition soon.