Joao Fonseca Showing Upside Of A Potential Champion At Indian Wells

Joao Fonseca
Joao Fonseca (photo: Brigitte Urban)

INDIAN WELLS/WASHINGTON, March 10, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

After a week in the California palm desert, in which Joao Fonseca has already defeated two Top-25 players and been featured in a Stadium 1 night session at the BNP Paribas Open, the 19-year-old Brazilian has shown the upside of a potential champion.

The 35th-ranked native of Rio de Janeiro has become a sporting hero for his nation – and his legion of fans have followed him from the Golden Swing of South America to the United States, packing the stands at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for each of his matches so far.

On Sunday night, Fonseca took out No. 23 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, 6-2, 6-3, in which he struck 20 winners, to advance to the fourth round at Indian Wells for the first time. Next, Fonseca will face World No. 2 and second seed Jannik Sinner on Tuesday. 

After his win against Paul, Fonseca presented the look of a popular hero, who was equally chill, calm and polite as he stood for his on-court interview. Then, he was very accommodating in signing autographs and posing for selfies with his fans. Later on, during his post-match news conference, Fonseca was asked about his positive demeanor.

“I need to get used to this,” Fonseca said. “If I want to be Top 1, Top 5 in the world and win Grand Slams, this is going to be more usual. Yeah, I love the support from the fans. I love children and kids coming by, asking for autographs, asking for photos.

“Just super nice, so I just try to act in the normal way and in a positive way.”

Whether Fonseca represents the next player who can challenge Sinner and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz remains to be seen. However, he looks forward to the challenge. After winning the Next Gen ATP Finals title in 2024, Fonseca has shown he has the game to win regularly on the ATP Tour – and he welcomes taking it to the next level.

“So, let’s keep working and then try to do the best that I can to achieve,” Fonseca said. “Yeah, I think that’s my mentality. 

“Like I said, I’m chill and very calm guy, so I just try to take positive things about those stuff and put in my day by day.

“I need to believe it. I mean, I played Khachanov in the second round and Tommy now. … I’m playing really well. I think I have the level. I’m playing really well. So, I mean, I think I can get there.”

The young Brazilian has been working on both his mental and physical game and realizes there’s a lot to improve. “But I’m thinking, I’m [on] the right path,” he said.

Fonseca saved two match points during his victory over Khachanov in the second round on Friday. Now, with his win over Paul to reach the fourth round, he’s the first Brazilian to go that far in an ATP Masters 1000 since Thiago Monteiro in 2024 at Rome. Fonseca is also the first Brazilian to advance to the fourth round at Indian wells since Thomaz Bellucci in 2012. He is now 7-1 against Top-30 competition since September, including two wins en route to winning the ATP 500 title in Basel last October.

“So, it’s going to be hopefully a great week, and it has already been a great week,” Fonseca said. “So, hopefully I can do more. Yeah, I’m just very happy to achieve my first fourth round.”

News & noteworthy

World No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States retired injured from a match for just the second time in her career. It happened Sunday evening on Stadium 1 after she sustained an injury to her left arm in her third-round match against No. 31 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. 

Eala was ahead 6-2, 2-0 after 54 minutes of play when Gauff walked to the net to prematurely end the contest. The 21-year-old American No. 1 had received medical treatment late in the first set after trailing 5-2. A WTA Tour trainer massaged her left shoulder as well as her forearm. Then, in between sets, a compression bandage was applied to Gauff’s left forearm.

It was a rough night in all respects for Gauff, who placed just 44 percent (17 of 39) of her first serves in play, won only 47 percent (eight of 17) first-serve points, committed seven double faults, and was broken five times – in each of her service games. She was outpointed by Eala 39-25.

In quotes that were circulated by the tournament, Gauff said: “I felt it, the second game of the first set. I guess a simple way to put it, it felt like a firework was going off inside of my arm, and then my whole arm felt like it was on fire.

“Being told that it’s probably something nerve-related. Never had anything like this before, never felt anything, a sensation like this before.”

Gauff’s only other mid-match retirement due to an injury happened back in 2022 at the Cincinnati Open against Marie Bouzkova of Czechia.

With Gauff eliminated, it left four Americans remaining in the women’s singles draw going into Monday’s completion of the third round: No. 6 seed Amanda Anisimova in the upper half; and No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, No. 15 seed Madison Keys and unseeded Ashlyn Krueger in the lower half.

Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Eala is through to the fourth round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time. On Tuesday, she will face No. 14 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia.

Like Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, the lefty Eala has seen legions of tennis fans flocking to each of her matches at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Ever since her breakthrough to the Miami Open semifinals nearly a year ago, passionate Filipino fans across the globe have been supporting Eala at her matches. There were plenty of them filling up seats on Stadium 1 for Sunday evening’s featured night session match against Gauff.

During her news conference afterward, Eala addressed Gauff’s retirement. “Yeah, it’s always very difficult, a difficult decision to retire from a match, I know,” she said. “No one likes winning like that, and no one likes losing like that.

“Nevertheless, I’m really happy with how I played. I’m really happy with my performance, and I hope I can make the best out of the momentum.”

Eala acknowledged International Women’s Day by saying: “I think the WTA is a great platform for us professional women tennis players, though I think it gives us a lot of opportunity. I’m very grateful for everything they have built for us, given us a chance to become these stars and do what we love in such grand stages.”

Later, during her news conference, Eala was asked her thoughts about what tournaments can do to help encourage new tennis fans – especially those who are interested in specific players.

“Well, I love that they’re – you know, it’s not just myself that have been bringing in different and new demographics into the audience and to the sport,” Eala said. 

“Personally, I think one of the ways – and I’m not saying that I know everything – but I think one of the ways is for the tennis community in general to develop in certain countries where tennis is not as big as other sports, I would say.

“So, speaking from my experience, tennis has grown so much in my country, right, and I think that that really adds to the fact that they come and they support me, because tennis is so popular now. So people are developing genuine interest in the sport.”

Around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden

• Five-time Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic, in his 17th appearance at the event after debuting in 2006, made a very narrow escape and reached the fourth round for the first time since 2017. Monday afternoon on Stadium 1, Djokovic defeated 27-year-old American Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, in two hours and two minutes. It was Djokovic’s second-straight three-set win in the California palm desert.

Kovacevic was playing in his first ATP Masters 1000 third round and looked to become the first American to defeat Djokovic in an ATP Masters 1000 event since John Isner at the Cincinnati Open in 2013. For a while, it looked like he just might do it. While Kovacevic finished with 50 winners – including 16 aces – he also committed 44 unforced errors. Djokovic countered with 22 winners, won 75 percent (33 of 44) of his first-serve points and converted two of six break points. Total points were even at 83.

“It was a great performance from Aleks. We know each other. We speak the same language. His whole family is Serbian,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview with ATP Media after securing his seventh win of the season in eight matches and 53rd victory lifetime at Indian Wells. “It’s great to see him doing well. He’s played a great tournament so far. I knew coming into the match that if he serves well and picks his spots, it was going to be hard to break him. That’s what happened, actually.”

• Reigning champion Jack Draper of Great Britain continued his quest to defend his IW title by defeating last year’s quarterfinalist, World No. 20 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 6-1, 7-5, in one hour and 18 minutes on Stadium 2. It was his eighth-straight win in Indian Wells going back to his title run last year.

The British No. 1 has recorded multiple wins in one event for the first time since his run to the Queen’s Club semifinals last June, after being sidelined due to left arm injury for most of seven months between Wimbledon and Dubai last week. He hit 14 winners, won 79 percent (27 of 34) of his first-serve points, converted six of 14 break points and outpointed Cerundolo 66-51.

During his post-match news conference, Draper said he’s looking forward to facing World No. 3 and third seed Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. “Obviously, I have tomorrow off to prepare for that,” he said. “Yeah, today was a decent performance, and glad with the way I came out, especially in the first set.

“The second set was a little bit up and down, a bit ropey, but tough conditions and managed to come through and play well when I needed to. Looking forward to Wednesday.”

• No. 1 American and 2022 IW champion Taylor Fritz, who took on fellow U.S. player Alex Michelsen, aimed to be the only man to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells in all six editions held this decade (not held in 2020). Unfortunately for him, the 44th-ranked Michelsen had other plans and pulled off a 6-4, 7-6 (6) upset in one hour and 39 minutes on Stadium 2 for the biggest win of his career. Michelsen withstood 12 aces from the World No. 7 Fritz and saved seven of eight break points. He outpointed Fritz 82-73. 

“I played higher than my average level,” Michelsen said in his on-court interview. “That’s what you have to do to beat a guy like him.”

During his post-match news conference, Fritz called his performance “pretty bad.” He added: “Just not the best match for me. I think that I struggled a lot with the wind in the beginning. I was trying to be aggressive, and when I was trying to be aggressive with the wind, I just couldn’t.”

The 21-year-old Michelsen will face either World No. 11 and two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev of Russia or No. 53 Sebastian Baez of Argentina, who played later Monday night, in the fourth round.

• Great Britain’s No. 27 seed Cameron Norrie, who earned his 250th tour-level win and 50th ATP Masters 1000 victory a round earlier, garnered his first Top 10 win of the season and reached the fourth round at Indian Wells for the fourth time after knocking off No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 39 minutes on Stadium 3.

Norrie saved six of seven break points, won 17 of 19 net-point exchanges, and converted three of four break-point chances against de Minaur. He outpointed the Aussie No. 1 70-57 for his third career win in five meetings.

Next, he will face 117th-ranked Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata, who upset World No. 10 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3, in two hours and 35 minutes on Stadium 3 for his first career Top-10 triumph.

• Also advancing was No. 13 seed Casper Ruud of Norway, who rallied to eliminate No. 24 seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in two hours on Stadium 3.

• World No. 5 Jessica Pegula of the United States, two weeks removed from winning a WTA 1000 title in Dubai, rallied from a set and 3-1 down to reach the fourth round. Pegula earned a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over No. 26 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in one hour and 46 minutes on Stadium 2 behind 12 aces and five breaks of her opponent’s serve. Ostapenko came into the third-round match having won four of her last five matches against Top-5 opponents but was stymied by Pegula.

It was Pegula’s seventh straight win and 15th victory of the season in 17 outings. It’s also the fourth time this season she’s come back to win after losing the first set and she’s 8-1 against players ranked outside the Top 20. Next, she will face No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who beat No. 22 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium, 6-2, 6-3, in one hour and 26 minutes on Stadium 4.

“I was getting very frustrated, I wasn’t returning very well,” Pegula said during her on-court interview, asked what turned the match around in her favor. “She was playing at a very high level. My coach just told me to calm down; I would get my chances. I guess he was right.”

• Defending champion and this year’s No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia was ousted by No. 44 Katerina Siniakova of Czechia, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, in two hours and 48 minutes of tense and, at times, testy tennis on Stadium 1. The victory advanced Siniakova into the fourth round at Indian Wells for the first time. She took advantage of 10 double faults by Andreeva and broke her serve seven times in 16 attempts. Siniakova saved 19 of 26 break points she faced. By the end, Siniakova outpointed Andreeva 126-117, clinching match point on a net-cord winner.

“Yeah, it was really long match, and I’m just proud,” Siniakova said during her post-match news conference. “You know, I kept fighting and trying to keep those long rallies and I did really well.”

• No. 13 seed Karolina Muchova of Czechia advanced to the fourth round after defeating No. 57 Antonia Ruzic of Croatia, 6-0, 6-3, in 70 minutes on Stadium 4. Muchova dropped just four points on her first serve, faced no break points, broke her opponent’s serve five times in 13 tries and outpointed Russia 61-36.

Next, she will face World No. 2 and second seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, who eased past No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece, 6-3, 6-2, in one hour and 25 minutes on Stadium. The two-time IW champion Swiatek outpointed her opponent 72-50. It was the third time Swiatek has beaten Sakkari at Indian Wells.

• Also advancing was No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who defeated No. 82 Ashlyn Krueger of the United States, 6-4, 6-2, in 70 minutes on Stadium 4.

• In doubles, men’s top seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina advanced to the second round after defeating wild cards Jannik Sinner of Italy and Reilly Opelka of the United States, 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, singles stars Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and Sebastian Korda of the United States advanced to the second round with a 6-7 (8), 6-2, 10-5 win over recent Acapulco champions Marcelo Melo of Brazil and Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Monday’s Indian Wells results

Tuesday’s Indian Wells order of play

By the numbers

With his third-round victory Monday, Novak Djokovic became the second-oldest player to reach the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990. He trails on Ivo Karlovic, who achieved the feat in Indian Wells at age 40 in 2019.

“Quotable …”

“Obviously you’re home, you’re comfortable. I mean, I’m renting a house out here, I’m chilling, got my team, super relaxed, all the restaurants I like, all the people I like. It’s super calm.

“This is fun. It’s fun to play here. Obviously, in New York it’s fun. I have close family and friends who come out, tons of energy. I always play later in the day too normally. You get kind of all day to rest and get ready for the show at night.

“It’s fun, man, because a lot of times we spend a lot of time in Europe and away from home. I like to be back in the States and put on a show and try to be elite.”

– No. 21 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, during his post-match news conference Sunday after defeating Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the fourth round. Tiafoe was describing how he enjoys playing in the United States.

 

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