BRAZILIAN wunderkind Joao Fonseca is through to the second round of Indian Wells after winning on debut against British player Jacob Fearnley. Both combatants have shot up the world rankings in the last 12 months, but it was Fonseca who took home the chocolates with a topsy-turvy 6-2 1-6 6-3 victory in two hours and one minute.

It was a hard-fought match for both players in the desert heat, as the Brazilian wildcard raced out to an early lead thanks to a break in the opening game. A second break when 4-2 up essentially set the first set for the South American, though eventually the tide would turn in the other direction.

Fearnley dominated the second set, winning the last five games after being 1-1 to take it out in36 minutes, just four minutes longer than Fonseca’s successful first set. It lead to a decider where both players put pressure on the other’s serve, as Fearnley broke and then bravely held to go 3-1 up. It meant the Brit had won eight of the last nine games and look certain to advance to the second round.

Fonseca had other plans though, coming from 2-3 down in the decider to incredibly reel off five straight games – breaking Fearnley twice in the process – to take out the match in just over two hours. The Brazilian broke four times to three in the end, and though he surprisingly hit 12 less winners (17-29), he also committed 11 less unforced errors (34-45).

“I think it was a great debut,” Fonseca said post-match. “It was very difficult to play here. It was windy, and I think it’s the biggest court I played on so far, so I’m just very excited about the way that I played today. I’m very happy with the way that I fought. I was a break down in the third, things were not very good for me, and I continued focusing on my game, so I’m very happy.”

Fonseca has become a cult hero this season with his rise up the world rankings and incredible Australian Open win over Andrey Rublev. He will next have to take on another Brit in 13th seed Jack Draper, as the South American has one of the toughest draws in the ATP1000 event.

A couple of lucky losers got up on day two, with Canadian Gabriel Diallo defeating China’s Zhizhen Zhang in a come-from-behind three-set victory, while Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp scored a win over Aussie Nick Kyrgios who had to retire at 7-6 3-0 down.

Aussie duo Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton both won their respective first round matches however, while French veteran Gael Monfils, rising American wildcard Mackenzie McDonald and talented young Czech Jakub Mensik were also among the victors on day two.