The South Tyrolean defeats the young Brazilian, considered by many to be his heir, in two tie-breaks. In the quarterfinals, he will face another rising star, Learner Tien

Jannik Sinner wins a championship match against Joao Fonseca, flying to the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, where he will face another formidable young player, Learner Tien. A response worthy of the world number two, who came back from a first set that was practically lost in the tiebreak, saving three set points in a row, and after a lapse in the second set while serving for the match, managed to reset everything and avoid a dangerous tiebreak. It ended 7-6 (8) 7-6 (4) in two hours and two minutes for the South Tyrolean against the man many consider to be his heir. And rightly so. Fonseca will arrive, there is little doubt, he is a phenomenon with a fearsome forehand and will give both Sinner and Alcaraz a run for their money, but “not today,” as Game of Thrones fans would say: not today, it is still early days, and this match, however well played by the boy from Rio de Janeiro, proved it at the crucial moments.

Fonseca holds his first service game with ease, while Jannik starts as he did against Shapovalov in the previous round, immediately conceding a break point. Fortunately, this time the Italian saves the opportunity and it’s 1-1. It’s immediately clear what kind of match it will be: Fonseca going all out, Sinner responding blow for blow with experience and class. When the Brazilian fails to break through, Jannik takes the upper hand and puts him in difficulty. The point is that keeping up with the 19-year-old from Rio is no easy task: his forehand is truly fearsome, with shots reaching speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, and his serve is no less impressive, with peaks of 225 kilometers per hour. It is also very varied and therefore difficult to read, even for an extraordinary returner like the Italian. At 3-3, Franco Davin’s pupil (Fognini’s former coach) makes a few too many mistakes and Jannik gets his first break point, which the South American cancels out without too much trouble. Fonseca starts playing heavy forehand diagonals to Sinner’s backhand, and the match rises to another level. The world number two began to vary his game with a few drop shots and a few approaches to the net, and Fonseca suffered a little. Another break point for Jannik at 4-4, canceled out by a senseless second serve at 190 km/h from the Brazilian, who stretched his lead to 5-4 after a splendid backhand down the line from Sinner that went out by a whisker.

Argument and first set—  It goes to a tiebreak, with Jannik arguing (rightly so) with two spectators who were talking during the rally, something very unusual for the South Tyrolean. At 3-2, Fonseca gets two mini-breaks, first with one of his usual deadly forehands, then with an error by the Italian. There are three set points for the Brazilian. Sinner recovers two on his serve, the South American throws away the third with a long forehand caused by tension, and on the next point, the world number two hits a great return and with four consecutive points earns himself a set point, winning an incredible tiebreak 8-6 in one hour and two minutes.

Second set—  Everyone expects Fonseca to collapse, but he doesn’t. The Brazilian, although shaken, manages to keep up the pace, but Sinner is not to be outdone. The Italian holds up very well with his serve (15 aces in the end and 59% of first serves), and gives the South American no chance. At 3-2 for Jannik, the match turns and seems to be going Italy’s way, with Fonseca missing his serve, double faulting, and giving Sinner two break points: Joao saves the first with a great drop shot after a 23-shot rally, but on the second, he finds himself facing a deadly return from Jannik and sends the ball into the net. At 5-2 for Sinner, it seemed to be over, but not even close. At 5-4, Jannik serves for the match but has a terrible service game, while the Brazilian plays a spectacular game and breaks back to love. The South American wins 12 points to 2, and the score is 5-5. Sinner has to start all over again and is forced into a tiebreak for the second time. At 2-2, Sinner misses the ball and gives Fonseca a mini-break, who returns the “favor” by firing a forehand into the net. They change sides at 3-3. At 4-4, Sinner takes two lines in a row and goes up 5-4, and on the next point, he pushes on the forehand and at 6-4, the Italian earns two match points. The first is enough with a great return. Fonseca is left with the applause and the promise of a future that for Sinner is already a splendid present, with the quarterfinals at Indian Wells earned for the third time in his career.