Fonseca foils Brit Fearnley in winning desert debut

Breakthrough Brazilian Joao Fonseca lived up to his growing hype with a late-match comeback to advance to the second round of the Indian Wells Masters on Thursday.

The 18-year-old calmly polished his reputation in his debut at the event, dispatching Brit Jakob Fearnley 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in two hours.

The winner of his seventh match this season and champion in Buenos Aires last month, recovered from 3-1 down in the third set,breaking Fearnley twice to ensure passage.

 Success marked his second career victory at the Masters 1000 level after Madrid last spring.Fearnley out-hit the South American with 29 winners but 45 unforced errors; Fonseca was steadier, striking 17and 34 respectively.

The youngster lined up a match with his second straight British opponent as he now meets national No. 1 Jack Draper.

“It was very difficult to play with all the wind,” the winner said of the gusty conditions. “This is the biggest court I’ve played on so far.

“I’m excited with how I played, I’m happy with how I fought. I was just focussing on my game and I’m very happy,” the ATP No. 80 said after his 20th win of the season.

Main photo:- Joao Fonseca fist pumps as he wins first round match by Pete Staples/ATPTour