Indian Wells: Jacob Fearnley loses to Joao Fonseca before Emma Raducanu’s return
Jacob Fearnley missed his debut in Wells in India at a meeting with Briton Jack Draper, and he was beaten by later star Joao Fonseca.
Knowing that the victory will lead to a second round against his childhood opponent, No. 81 Fearnley broke through the decision of an exciting match.
However, 18-year-old Fonseca won five straight games and won 6-2 1-6 6-3.
Draper was 13th, earned his first round goodbye and will face the Brazilian teenager on Saturday.
Ranked 80th in the world, Fonseca has caused a serious sensation in the sport and has been predicted by many as a future Grand Slam champion.
He won the next ATP title last December – the season-ending match played by the leading men’s players under 20 – and then announced that he arrived on the Grand Slam stage by defeating the ninth seed Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open.
Last month, he canceled his first ATP title at the Argentina Open, becoming the fourth young man since 2000 with a racing singles title, winning the singles title with Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
“There must be a reason why there is a lot of hype around him,” Fearnley said.
“He played incredible tennis and played a heavy ball. He had a lot of confidence that you could see how he played.
“He beat 3-1 and I did better and didn’t seem to shock him – he’s still very positive and working on his shot.”
