Joao Fonseca will drop down to the Challenger Tour after suffering a thrashing in Indian Wells. The teenage sensation received a wildcard into the Masters 1000 tournament but suffered a one-sided, 6-4 6-0 defeat to Jack Draper in round two.
The world No. 80 took the tennis world by storm earlier this year, earning a top-10 win on his Grand Slam debut before winning his first ATP Tour title. But Fonseca is set to return to the Challenger circuit in Phoenix this week after failing to go deep in Indian Wells.
Fonseca made his debut in Indian Wells last week after receiving a wildcard from the tournament organisers. The 18-year-old certainly drew in crowds – the stands for his matches were packed, and he received plenty of support from Brazilian fans.
But his run came to a disappointing end in the second round, where he lost the last nine games in a row in his defeat to Draper. After the match, Draper claimed his opponent would soon become a “top, top player”.
The British No. 1 said: “He’s such an amazing talent, hits the ball so hard and he’s only going to improve. It’s just more experience at this level and he’s going to be a top, top player very soon.”
Now, Fonseca has returned to the Challenger circuit. The Brazilian has entered this week’s Arizona Tennis Classic, one of the highest-tier events on the Challenger Tour, which offers 175 ranking points.
During the extended two-week Masters 1000 events, no other ATP tournaments are held in the second week for those who lose early on, so it’s not uncommon for players to enter Challengers instead.
And that’s exactly what Fonseca has done, joining a stacked draw in Phoenix. The world No. 80 will open his campaign against Pavel Kotov.
World No. 36 and two-time defending champion Nuno Borges is the top seed at the Arizona Tennis Classic, getting a bye into round two.
Along with Borges, three other top 50 players are in action – Flavio Cobolli, Pedro Martinez, and Jan-Lennard Struff.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk