Carlos Alcaraz has succeeded in his first ever duel against Joao Fonseca, in the second round of the Miami Open: 6-4, 6-4. The World No. 1 bounces back from his defeat against Daniil Medvedev last week at Indian Wells, and has already improved his result from last year's Miami Open, when he lost in his debut round to David Goffin.
One year ago, Alcaraz suffered one of his toughest defeats, but that taught him that sometimes you have to "disconnect to connect again", and after a long vacation with his family, he returned stronger than ever to the court, reclaiming World No. 1, winning nine trophies and playing three finals: only two tournaments since then where he didn't reach the final (Indian Wells 2026 and Paris 2025).
Next for Alcaraz, he will face the American Sebastian Korda in round of 32 on Sunday.
Alcaraz remembers when Nadal "destroyed" him when he was 19
Alcaraz is still very young, only 22 years old, but has the experience that 19-year-old Fonseca lacks. The Spaniard is convinced that the Brazilian teenager will learn a lot from his back-to-back defeats with him and Sinner, and compared it to when he first played against Rafa Nadal and was "destroyed".
"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 it's going to be really helpful for him", Alcaraz said.
"I do remember when I played Rafael Nadal for the first time, and I do remember how good that match was for me, even though I was destroyed," said Alcaraz, referring to a round of 32 match in Madrid Open 2021. One year later, Alcaraz defeated Nadal in the same event, and later that year he became the youngest World No. 1 ever at age 19.
Do you think Joao Fonseca will grow to the level of Alcaraz and Sinner in the coming months or years?