Joao Fonseca Not Yet Ready for Jannik Sinner and Gustavo Kuerten Comparisons: “I Dream of Being Like Them”

Joao Fonseca is playing at the Canadian Open for the second time in his career. Although he suffered an opening-round exit last year, he has made the fourth round this time.

He will be locking horns with none other than defending champion Ben Shelton, who cruised past Zizou Bergs. Fonseca has met the American ace once, in the quarterfinals of this year’s BMW Open, which the latter won and later beat Arthur Fils in the final.

Fonseca will be playing the fourth round of a Masters 1000 for the third time in his career. At the press conference after his latest win, he was asked about the Gustavo Kuerten and Jannik Sinner comparisons.

I dream of being like them, but for now, I do not consider myself part of that circle yet. Reaching even half of what they both achieved would be a dream, which is why I try to focus on my routine and what I can do to improve every day, both as an athlete and as a person. For my part, I always try to keep my feet on the ground, as my parents taught me.

Fonseca has faced the World No.1 once, in the fourth round of Indian Wells, which he lost. Sinner later reached the final and beat Daniil Medvedev. The Brazilian ace is chasing his third title of his career. Last year, after winning the Argentina Open, the 19-year-old clinched the Swiss Indoors Open, winning his career’s first ATP 500 title. If he reaches the quarterfinals, he will face Botic van de Zandschulp or Jakub Mensik.

Jannik Sinner withdraws from the Cincinnati Masters

Jannik Sinner is not playing in Montreal, and now he has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Masters as well due to a knee injury. Reports of Sinner getting medical treatments kept emerging, and now the five-time Grand Slam champion himself has confirmed that he is not ready to compete.

After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. My right knee has been bothering me, and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet.

Jannik Sinner said (via ATP Tour)

Sinner has been on a winning streak in Masters 1000 tournaments since the 2025 Paris Masters, having won titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome this season. And after completing the Career Golden Masters (and becoming the second man after Novak Djokovic to do so), Sinner entered Paris to chase the Career Grand Slam.

But he suffered cramps during his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and lost in five sets. Sinner then skipped the warm-up events on grass to manage his schedule and later defended his title at SW19 with a four-set win over Alexander Zverev. It was his sixth title of the season (the most on the men’s tour this year).

Sinner will be hoping to recover completely before the US Open, the main draw of which starts on August 30. Last year in the tournament, the 24-year-old lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz. Last year in Cincinnati, Sinner competed as the defending champion, but due to an illness, he handed the walkover to the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Alcaraz will also not be competing in Cincinnati because of a wrist injury he suffered during the Barcelona Open. Since the first round of the Barcelona event, the Spaniard has not yet played a match, including at the French Open and Wimbledon.

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