Joao Fonseca seeks ‘this’ player as an inspiration alongside Roger Federer in his bid to become World No. 1

Joao Fonseca had an impressive opening round victory against Jacob Fearnley at his debut Indian Wells campaign.

Joao Fonseca seeks ‘this’ player as an inspiration alongside Roger Federer in his bid to become World No. 1

Joao Fonseca and Roger Federer (via X and Roger Federer.com)

In his Indian Wells debut, Joao Fonseca had an opening round victory against Jacob Fearnley. After his win, Fonseca sat down with Tennis Channel for an interview where he talked about mindset during a tense final-set comeback, his playing style and inspirations, his growth in maturity and confidence, as well as the increasing attention and support he’s receiving from fans around the world.

Fonseca ousted Fearnley 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours for his first victory in the desert. He trailed 3-1 in the final set before rattling off five games to bring the victory home. The Brazilian teen sensation faced Jack Draper in the next round, but was beaten in straight sets.

YouTube video

Joao Fonseca remarked that his opening round match was difficult and said that it was a little bit windy on court, which made it tough to make returns from the inside of the baseline. The 18-year-old described his rival as playing better and said that he was just focusing on playing his game a little bit more aggressively and focusing on the beginning of the points, return plus one, and serve plus. Fonseca expressed that he was very happy with the win.

FS Video

I like to be aggressive: when I was little, say 12 years old, I was not so much focused on the rallies, but rather on finding the winning point! My idol is Federer and I really like watching Sinner, they are both an inspiration to me. But I just play my game. Every player, when he enters the professional ranks, or maybe even as a junior, dreams of becoming among the top 10 or competing to win tournaments. My dream is to become world number 1: it does not mean that I will become it, but I know that I work very hard to achieve it.

Joao Fonseca via Tennis Channel

Fonseca also spoke about his court preferences. Speaking about his love for clay courts, he said that he was born on clay, and he only stepped on a hard court when he was 10 or 11. But at the same time, Fonseca added that where he wants to be in the future is a grass court.

Joao Fonseca is making impressive strides in tennis

Ranked 80th in the world, Fonseca is stirring a serious buzz in tennis and is being predicted by many to be a future Grand Slam champion. In December, he won the Next Gen ATP title in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia—an end-of-season tournament contested by the leading men’s players aged under 20.

Joao Fonseca
Joao Fonseca (via Instagram)

Fonseca announced his arrival on the Grand Slam stage with a strong performance by defeating ninth seed Andrey Rublev in his opening round at the Australian Open. Last month he lifted his maiden ATP title at the Argentina Open, an ATP 250 tournament, by defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the finals in straight sets.

Even in the tournament in Buenos Aires, I had a match point against me, and I came back, and I won the match. So I think I’m getting a little bit more mature and a little bit more confident in my game, and I’m just trying to keep this momentum and to keep playing good tennis, and yeah, I’m feeling good; I’m feeling confident in my game, and I just want to keep going.

Joao Fonseca added

With this triumph he became the fourth youngest man since 2000 to win a tour singles title after Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. After the Argentina Open, he competed at the Rio Open before arriving at Indian Wells.