João Fonseca is guaranteed in the third round of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. The Brazilian number 35 in the ATP rankings beat the Russian Karen Khachanov (16) by 2 sets to 1 (partials of 4/6, 7/6 and 6/4), on Saturday night (7).
To win the triumph, João needed a lot of mental strength and recovery power. The 19-year-old tennis player lost the first set after being broken by the Russian in the first games of the partial.
The second set went into a tie-break, where the Brazilian took a 4-1 lead, but saw Khachanov score five points in a row and go 6-4, with two chances to close out the match.
Afterwards, João saved the two match points, took the lead and closed the tie break at 9 to 7.
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This was only the third triumph for the world number 35 in the 2026 season, and the second came in Indian Wells, in the first round, against Belgian Raphael Collignon.
João Fonseca in the third phase
In the third round, Fonseca will face American Tommy Paul. The world number 24 beat Belgian Zizou Bergs by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 6/4 and 6/3.
If he overcomes the American, the Brazilian could face the Italian and number two in the world for the first time in his career.
