In a highly-anticipated match, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday.
Fonseca, 19, went toe-to-toe with eventual champion Jannik Sinner of Italy one week ago, falling 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), in the round of 16 at Indian Wells, Calif.
The popular Alcaraz is used to having the crowd on his side, but the Brazilian fans made themselves heard throughout the match. But the Spaniard held his nerve, saving all three break points against and coming through on 2 of 5 break points in one hour, 35 minutes.
“I think I was really good in crucial moments. I was really good since the beginning until the last ball. I know how good Joao is, and that’s why I was really focused, every point, every shot,” said Alcaraz.
“I’m just happy to stay calm, to stay positive in those moments. Most of the games, I just served pretty well, which was a really great weapon today for me.”
Alcaraz produced 27 winners compared to 13 for Fonseca. But he was highly complementary of a player that could become a rival.
“I think he has everything, great shots, a lot of things to improve, but for sure he’s going to do it. Back-to-back tournaments playing the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world I think is going to be really helpful for him,” said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz will take on 32nd-seeded Sebastian Korda in the third round. Korda cruised past Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli, 6-0, 6-3.
It was a good day for the Americans, led by a surprising upset by Ethan Quinn. The 22-year old Fresno, Calif., native defeated No. 11 Norwegian Casper Ruud, 6-4, 7-6. In addition, big server Reilly Opelka defeated No. 25 Jack Draper of Great Britain, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0).
The top American, No. 6 Taylor Fritz, prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 over Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherland and No. 22 Tommy Paul edged France’s Adrian Mannarino, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
There were two upsets amongst the top-10 seeds. Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated No. 5 Alex de Minaur of Australia, 6-3, 7-6 (3) and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini ousted No. 10 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-4.
Tsitsipas has slumped to No. 51 in the world, but improved to 12-1 vs. the gritty Australian.
“There were moments in the match that felt really good,” Tsitsipas said. “I had to handle the nerves towards the end. It’s not easy having to handle moments and situations like this against Alex. He’s a very tough competitor, gets a lot of balls back, so I had to work quite hard for my points.”
–Field Level Media
