19-year-old rising tennis star Joao Fonseca plays Carlos Alcaraz in a much-anticipated second round match at the Miami Open, the pair’s first meeting.
Fonseca defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in less than two hours at Miami Gardens in front of enthusiastic Brazilian fans.
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The teenager took on Alcaraz’s only real rival, Janik Sinner, in Indian Wells last month and will now face another standout on the men’s tour.
In the fourth round, Fonseca forced Sinner in two intense tiebreaks, the first time the two met. Sinner took the lead at a critical moment and eventually won the championship, his first in 2026.
“Excited for sure,” Fonseca said when asked about his next game. “I don’t know about the other players, but I’m looking forward to playing against top players. Last game I played against Jannik and now I play against Carlos.
“It’s a really super experience, so I’m really looking forward to it, it’s going to be a great game. Hopefully I can win.”
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In 2022, the 18-year-old Alcaraz won his first Masters 1000 championship in Miami, becoming the youngest champion in the event’s history.
The Spaniard, now an eight-time Masters champion, is the top seed in Miami, where he was knocked out in the first round by David Goffin last year.
Fonseca was boosted by a large and vocal Brazilian team in Miami (Getty Images)
Elsewhere, another highly regarded young talent, French 17-year-old Moise Kouame, won his first ATP Tour title.
The teenager, who has impressed on the lower-level ATP Challenger and ITF circuits, defeated home hopeful Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The result means he becomes Miami’s youngest ever winner of the tournament and the youngest winner of an ATP Masters 1000 event since Rafael Nadal in 2003.
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He received a congratulatory message from his idol Novak Djokovic, telling Tennis Channel: “I have a little secret… After winning, Novak texted me. I was nervous, I didn’t know what to answer. He sent me a text like, ‘There’s an important match today. Congratulations. Hope you go far.'”
“perhaps [I should reply]: “Thank you, Novak. Thank you, my idol. No…I don’t know! Imagine your idol DM [direct message] You love this…this is the coolest thing ever. “
Djokovic won his first Masters 1,000 match in Paris in 2005, three years before Kouame was born.
The Frenchman will face a tougher test in the next round, when he will face a player ranked 363 places above him: No. 21 seed Jiri Lehka.