Roger Federer Offers Advice to Joao Fonseca Who’s ‘Bit Like’ Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner registered his second defeat of the season at the hands of Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.

Roger Federer Offers Advice to Joao Fonseca Who’s ‘Bit Like’ Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner, Joao Fonseca, Roger Federer (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Joao Fonseca, Updates)

In Short
  • Roger Federer advises Joao Fonseca to learn to control his power in tennis.
  • Both Fonseca and Jannik Sinner were eliminated early in their respective tournaments.
  • Jakub Mensik achieved a significant victory by defeating Jannik Sinner in the Qatar Open quarterfinals.

Roger Federer thinks Joao Fonseca‘s tennis resembles Jannik Sinner. Both youngsters crashed out of their respective tournaments.

Sinner succumbed to a three-set defeat at the hands of Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open, while Fonseca lost to Ignacio Buse in the round of 16 of his home tournament, the Rio Open. In a recent interview, Fonseca’s idol, 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, gave him some advice, comparing his game to Sinner’s.

Joao is a bit like Sinner: he needs to learn how to dose his power and understand when to hold back his attacks. Once he finds the solution, there will be no limits.

Roger Federer told L’Equipe (H/T: Ubitennis)

Prior to the Rio event, the 19-year-old lost in the first rounds of the Australian Open and the Argentina Open. He also withdrew from the Brisbane International and the Adelaide International due to a lower back injury.

Before losing to Mensik, Sinner lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets in the semifinals of the Australian Open, where he played as the two-time defending champion. The four-time Grand Slam champion now has a 7-2 win-loss record this season.

The last time Sinner lost in two consecutive tournaments without reaching the final was in 2024, when he exited in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and the Canadian Open.

Jakub Mensik shares his mindset after upsetting Jannik Sinner

Jakub Mensik clinched his biggest win by ranking by knocking out Jannik Sinner and improving his head-to-head record to 1-0. Last year as well, Mensik made global headlines after upsetting Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open, denying the 24-time Grand Slam champion his 41st Masters 1000 title.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Before the match, I knew about Jannik’s quality. A great guy, a great champion. Already, what he has done in his young career it’s pretty impressive, so I knew it was going to be a tough one. But even with that thought, I came to the match to win it, and actually having a winning mindset.

Jakub Mensik said during his on-court interview

The Czech ace has now set up his semifinal clash with Arthur Fils, who knocked out Jiri Lehecka. Mensik holds a 1-1 head-to-head tie with the Frenchman, with the former winning their last meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Miami Open.

I served pretty good, even if the conditions were starting to get slower during the night. It was a very tough mental battle. After the second set, when I dropped my energy a little bit, I’m really happy that I came back after the toilet break, and from the beginning of the third set, I just started to serve well again. I’m just happy with the performance I showed today.

Jakub Mensik added

The 20-year-old has so far featured in three finals, winning two titles. He is chasing his second title of the season following a successful run at the ASB Classic, where he defeated Sebastian Baez. Mensik has yet to make the final of an ATP 500 tournament.

Sinner is next set to play the Indian Wells Masters. The first ATP Masters 1000 of the season is scheduled to start on March 4. Sinner has yet to reach the final, losing twice in the semifinals (in 2023 and 2024). But at the Miami Open, Sinner is a former champion (defeated Grigor Dimitrov in 2024).

The 24-year-old also made two more finals in Miami: lost to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and to Daniil Medvedev in 2023. He skipped both events last year because he was serving a three-month doping ban at the time.

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