World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will begin his 2026 Miami Open campaign on Friday, March 20, at Stadium Court at Hard Rock Stadium. He is looking to regain the momentum he held at the beginning of the season, but Brazilian sensation João Fonseca stands in his way.
While Alcaraz is the heavy favorite, rain in Miami has delayed the start of Friday’s matches, leaving fans waiting for this high-stakes second-round clash.
Carlos Alcaraz Praises João Fonseca and Local Support
Right before the match against the rising star, the Spaniard shared his thoughts on his opponent and admired his style of play. Alcaraz enters the tournament as the top seed after receiving a first-round bye. He was set to face the winner of the match between Hungarian Fábián Marozsán and Fonseca, which the Brazilian won 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes on Thursday.
Now that the highly anticipated battle is locked in, Alcaraz shared his thoughts on the rising Brazilian. Speaking with “Tennis TV,” the Spaniard admired Fonseca, saying, “I love watching him. We could see last year how big Fonseca is here in Miami.”
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Referring to the massive support the Brazilian received in last year’s edition of the Miami Open, Alcaraz added, “I think it’s great to see a lot of people and a lot of fans around, screaming and cheering, hearing them so loudly. I think it’s great. So just trying take the joga bonito [play beautiful] from Brazil.”
He also analyzed Fonseca’s performance against Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells, where the teenager pushed the world No. 2 to two tiebreak sets. “I think he has the level, he has the shots, he has the power,” Alcaraz said. “I would say that he has everything. A lot of things to improve, obviously, but if he does the right things he is going to be there for sure.”
However, Alcaraz stressed the need for the youngster to improve, noting that Fonseca must handle the pressure that comes with such high-level performance.
“He is going to fight for great things,” Alcaraz added. “He has to improve. He has to learn how to deal with expectation. How to deal with everything on court. And obviously, to choose the right things all the time. When or if he does it, he is going to be a player to beat.”
Alcaraz, who is just three years older than Fonseca, knows that massive support brings huge expectations and pressure, making it difficult to maintain performance levels.
Fonseca’s Miami Presence and the Clash With Alcaraz
Fonseca faced a major scheduling controversy last year when tournament organizers moved his second-round match against 19th-seeded Ugo Humbert from Grandstand to Stadium Court after a retirement opened a slot. This required Brazilian fans to pay for upgrades to Stadium Court tickets, leading to booing at Hard Rock Stadium that interrupted Jack Draper’s match against Jakub Menšík.
This year, tournament director James Blake made it clear that he will not repeat the same mistakes and will prioritize the Brazilian for Stadium Court.
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Fonseca reached the third round last year before losing to 10th seed Alex de Minaur 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. He is looking to deliver a deep run at the tournament, fueled by the local support, but the mammoth task of overtaking Alcaraz lies in his way.
The 19-year-old beat Marozsán in the first round to set up this clash. Both stars are yet to face each other in an official ATP Tour match, though they played an exhibition in Miami last December. Alcaraz is the clear favorite heading into the match with an 86% chance of advancing to the third round, according to PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator.
