Fearnley misses out on Draper meeting in Indian Wells

Jacob Fearnley missed out on a meeting with fellow Briton Jack Draper after losing on his Indian Wells debut to rising star Joao Fonseca.

Knowing a victory would lead to a second-round match against his childhood rival, the 81st-ranked Fearnley led by a break in the deciding set of a thrilling three-set contest.

However, 18-year-old Fonseca recovered to win five games in a row and clinch a 6-2 1-6 6-3 victory.

Draper, seeded 13th, received a first-round bye and will face the Brazilian teenager on Saturday.

Britain's Emma Raducanu followed Fearnley on to the main court at Indian Wells, taking on Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in her first-round match.

It is the 22-year-old's first appearance since a disturbing stalking incident in Dubai last month.

British number three Sonay Kartal plays later on Thursday against American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko.

No player has climbed up the ATP rankings more than Fearnley over the past year, with the 23-year-old Scot moving from outside the top 500 into the top 90.

Fonseca, however, has also enjoyed his own meteoric rise.

Ranked a place above Fearnley at 80th in the world, the teenager is creating a serious buzz in the tennis world, with many tipping him to become a Grand Slam champion.

The excitement has largely been down to his power from the baseline, with the increasingly regular sight of explosive winners leaving fans in the stadium agog, as well as creating impressive clips for social media.

This ability was shown in an impressive opening set where Fonseca settled quicker than Fearnley in a testing Californian desert wind.

But the Briton fought back by showing how he could hurt Fonseca with his own power from the baseline.

The ferocity of Fearnley's forehand increased, finding more speed and depth to trouble Fonseca, while also stepping further into the court to attack the Brazilian's second serve.

The adjustments were illustrated by three whopping forehand winners - including one at 89mph - which secured a double break on his way to levelling the match.

Fearnley's momentum enabled him to move an early break up in the decider – but Fonseca showed he possesses the mental strength, as well as the technical talent, needed to climb even higher in the rankings.

Fonseca reasserted his authority in the baseline exchanges, applying enough pressure on Fearnley's serve to draw out two double faults and break back for 3-3.

With plenty of vocal Brazilian fans behind him, Fonseca maintained the momentum as he underlined why he is being predicted to reach the very top.