Mark Petchey Calls Out Joao Fonseca for his ‘Robot’ Comment About Jannik Sinner: “Be Careful”

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock third-round exit in Miami, while Jannik Sinner needs two more wins to complete the Sunshine Double.

Mark Petchey Calls Out Joao Fonseca for his ‘Robot’ Comment About Jannik Sinner: “Be Careful”

Joao Fonseca, Mark Petchey and Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Tiempo De Tenis, 4K JANNIK SINNER, Sky Sports)

In Short
  • Mark Petchey criticized Joao Fonseca's "robot" comment about Jannik Sinner, emphasizing the depth of Sinner's game.
  • Fonseca acknowledged Sinner's skill but suggested that Alcaraz has a more versatile playing style.
  • Sinner aims to complete the Sunshine Double and close the ranking gap with Carlos Alcaraz by winning the Miami Open.

Joao Fonseca has now faced both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on the court. The Brazilian youngster was defeated by eventual winner Sinner in the Indian Wells fourth round, and later in the Miami Open second round, Alcaraz defeated him.

In a recent interview, Fonseca said the Italian ace is “more like a robot” and “does everything perfect“. In his assessment of Alcaraz, Fonseca said the seven-time Grand Slam champion “can do everything”. Emma Raducanu‘s former coach, Mark Petchey, did not agree with Fonseca’s comment about Sinner.

But I do think that we and everyone need to be careful. When you call someone like Jannik robotic, it kind of sets up this image in your mind that he is literally out there just [pinging shots back]. There is a lot more to Jannik’s game than being robotic.

Mark Petchey said on The Big T Podcast

Many believe Fonseca, with more improvement in his game, will be a threat to the Sincaraz dominance. Along with the 19-year-old, Learner Tien and Jakub Mensik have also been backed to challenge the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly.

He is relentless in his pursuit of excellence. He serves and volleys; he hits quite a few drop shots now compared to what he used to. The skill level to be able to redirect off a line ball, back off the line, with the accuracy that he does. I think that we need to find a better way of conveying the relentlessness and consistency. I understand how it gets woven into a robotic kind of narrative, but it isn’t robotic.

Mark Petchey added

Alcaraz, the winner of the Australian Open (defeated Novak Djokovic) and the Qatar Open (defeated Arthur Fils), lost to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinal, which ended his 16-match winning streak. He then lost to Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open third round.

Alexander Zverev shares what he needs to do to beat Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner won his first title in the California desert and now needs two more wins to complete the Sunshine Double. He defeated Frances Tiafoe in the Miami Open quarterfinal to schedule his semifinal clash with Alexander Zverev.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Quindici Zero)

The four-time Grand Slam champion holds a 7-4 head-to-head lead over the three-time Major finalist, defeating him in their last six meetings, including in this year’s Indian Wells semifinal.

What hurt me the most against him in Indian Wells was the serve; I served horribly. That will be the most important aspect, although I basically need to have a perfect day. I am ready for the challenge.

Alexander Zverev told ESPN Tenis

Before scheduling the match against the World No.2, Zverev breezed past Francisco Cerundolo, improving his head-to-head record to 4-3. Zverev has never tasted success in Miami, but reached the final back in 2018, losing the match to John Isner. Sascha, in fact, has never won at Indian Wells nor at the Miami Open.

Sinner lifted his first title in Miami in 2024 against Grigor Dimitrov and also finished as the runner-up in 2021 and 2023, losing to Hubert Hurkacz and Daniil Medvedev, respectively. If he beats Zverev, he will either face Arthur Fils or Jiri Lehecka in the final.

The 24-year-old will close the rankings gap between him and Carlos Alcaraz if he achieves the Sunshine Double. At present, Sinner has 11,800 points in the live rankings, while Alcaraz has 13,590. Sinner will have 12,400 points if he wins the title.

So far in his career, Sinner has won six Masters 1000 titles and has yet to drop a set at this level since his 2025 Shanghai Masters third-round exit. Sinner won both the 2025 Paris Masters and this year’s Indian Wells without dropping a set.

Also read: Former World No.1 Criticizes Mirra Andreeva for failing to handle Pressure Following Recent Results