Fonseca on Sinner’s Robotic Tennis, and Alcaraz’s Versatility

Joao Fonseca’s season may not have started exactly as he hoped—with a back injury and a 5-5 record through his first ten matches—but his last two losses could prove to be a key that unlocks new possibilities.

The 19-year-old Brazilian faced Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in the span of three matches—a round-of-16 loss at Indian Wells to eventual champion Sinner, followed by a second-round defeat in Miami to Alcaraz—and on Friday night, after falling 6-4, 6-4 to the Spaniard, he reflected on the experience of facing the two-headed force that currently rules the men’s game.

As always, he was extremely quotable—another reason to like Brazil’s young phenom.

“I think Jannik’s game helped me to enter the court with no fear, trying to play my game,” Fonseca said of facing Alcaraz so soon after his meeting with Sinner. “But I think I didn’t take the opportunities that I had, and of course he played well. He’s No. 1 in the world. But I need to think about my mistakes and try to improve.”

Alcaraz, who will face Sebastian Korda in the round of 32 in Miami on Sunday, was full of praise for the teenager.

“I think he has everything—great shots, a lot of things to improve—but for sure he’s going to do it,” Alcaraz said. “Playing back-to-back tournaments against the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world is going to be really helpful for him.”

Alcaraz says he was impressed with Fonseca’s natural power during Friday’s clash.

“It feels like he can make a winner from everywhere,” he said. “And that’s impressive. That what’s surprised me the most. But at the same time, I know what he’s capable of doing. Great shots, great power. But, yeah, facing him for the first time, that was the most impressive thing that I [noticed].”

Fonseca offered an interesting contrast between the two stars. He likened Sinner to a machine, while describing Alcaraz as more of an artist—an opponent who is harder to read and disrupts rhythm more effectively.

“I think Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner,” he said. “Sinner is more like a robot that just kills the ball and does everything perfectly.

“Carlos, he can do everything. He can play with topspin, fire the ball, he has good movement, goes to the net. He has everything. It’s more difficult to understand the game. He breaks your rhythm a lot.”

“He has most of everything, so you don’t know what’s coming—serve, serve-and-volley, or a wide serve followed by a plus-one shot,” Fonseca added. “That’s the difficulty of playing against him. You need to almost play a perfect match.”

Sinner, for his part, was equally impressed after defeating Fonseca in straight tiebreak sets at Indian Wells last week.

“I think he is fearless,” Sinner said. “He likes to go for shots. He is very aggressive. He has a great mentality.

“I feel like he’s in really good hands with his team. They are having a very positive approach, which is very important, especially for young players. For sure he’s going to be very tough to beat. He’s already very tough to beat, but even more so in the future.”