“Playing toe to toe with us is gonna give him great feedback” – Alcaraz eases past Fonseca in Miami blockbuster
Spanish world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeated Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Miami Open. Alcaraz, the top seed, broke once in each set.
Carlos Alcaraz, Miami Open 2026 | © Alberto E. Tamargo/Sipa USA
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, dispatched Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday night to announce his Miami Open campaign in the most emphatic fashion – dominant on serve, ruthless in the crucial moments, and never once rattled by the electric atmosphere that a sold-out Hard Rock Stadium had come to generate.
Alcaraz, ranked No. 1, was precise when it mattered most, breaking in the third game of the first set and immediately at the start of the second to navigate both sets with the same single break of serve.
He won 71% of points on serve across both sets combined, and never allowed the 19-year-old Brazilian to find the rhythm that had taken him to two competitive tiebreaks against Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells just nine days earlier. Fonseca created chances — he earned three set points across the match – but converted none of them, and Alcaraz was always there to close the door.
Alcaraz stays calm as Fonseca’s break chances come and go
The Spaniard reflected on his level after the match with quiet satisfaction. “I think I was really good in crucial moments from the beginning to the last ball,” he said. “I know how good João is. That’s why I was really focused every point, every shot, trying to figure out what’s the best shot possible. He had a lot of chances to break my serve, to stay in the match, to stay tight in the set. I’m just happy to stay calm, stay positive in those moments. Most of the games I served pretty well, which was a really great weapon today.”
Part of what made Alcaraz so difficult to break down was his refusal to let Fonseca step inside the baseline. The Brazilian, who built much of his reputation on taking the ball early and redirecting pace, found that weapon neutralised by an opponent with an even more complete arsenal. Fonseca acknowledged as much.
“Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner,” he said. “Sinner is more like a robot that just kills the ball and does everything perfect. Carlos can do everything – topspin, fire the ball, good movement, goes to the net. It’s more difficult to understand the game. He breaks a lot of your rhythm.”
Alcaraz salutes Fonseca
The match attracted one high-profile spectator in the stands: Rory McIlroy, who had earlier watched Ethan Quinn’s victory over Casper Ruud, was present at Hard Rock Stadium, and Alcaraz marked the occasion with a golf swing celebration in the Irishman’s direction after one particularly sharp point. The moment lightened an evening that had a genuine sense of theatre about it, with the Brazilian contingent in the crowd as vocal as ever before eventually applauding their man off the court.
Alcaraz was generous about Fonseca after the match, drawing on his own career to place the evening in context. Asked how much matches against the world’s top players had helped Fonseca’s growth, the Spaniard reached for a memory. “I remember when I played Rafa Nadal for the first time in Madrid,” he said.
Korda next
“I remember how good that match was for me, even though I was destroyed. Playing toe to toe with us, he’s gonna get great feedback from his team. They’re gonna know what he should improve in the future. He has everything. Back-to-back tournaments playing against No. 1 and No. 2 in the world is gonna be really helpful for him.”
At the net, he kept it simple. Fonseca revealed that Alcaraz told him: “Good match, congratulations and keep going. You have a great future.” He will now face American Sebastian Korda, seed No. 32, in the third round.
