Joao Fonseca, the 19-year-old Brazilian, has now met the top two players on tour in the space of a month and on similar surfaces. He lost to Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells, 7-6, 7-6, and then fell to Carlos Alcaraz in Miami, 6-4, 6-4. Those results offered a clear lesson in the gulf that still separates a rising teenager from established champions.

Fonseca drew a sharp contrast between the two opponents he has faced. “I think Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner,” Fonseca said after his defeat at the Spaniard’s hands on Friday night. “Sinner is more like a robot that just kills the ball and does everything perfect.”

“Carlos, he can do everything. He can do with topspin, can fire the ball, he has good movement. Goes to the net. It’s more difficult to understand the game. He breaks a lot your rhythm.”

The match in Miami exposed particular vulnerabilities in Fonseca’s game. After a raucous welcome from the pro-Brazilian crowd, Fonseca started strong, but by the third game Alcaraz had already seized command. A sudden change in direction on a point forced Fonseca onto his slice backhand and opened a path for a return winner and an early break that Alcaraz would not relinquish.

Alcaraz’s margin was reflected in the match numbers. He finished with 27 winners to Fonseca’s 13 and made 70 percent of his first serves, winning 80 percent of those points. Those figures underline how difficult it is to beat Alcaraz when his serve and aggression are functioning.

Alcaraz offered his read on Fonseca after the match. “There were some times that he made a winner from behind the baseline with a fluffy ball that I just sliced, that I caught like a moonball, and from behind the baseline he was able to make a winner,” Alcaraz said. “It feels like he can make a winner every, you know, from everywhere. And that’s impressive.”

“He reminds me a lot when I was his age and just coming up,” Alcaraz said of Fonseca. “He should, I would say, he should choose the better option. Sometimes he misses a few shots or sometimes he miss like a lot of easy balls because he doesn’t choose the right shots, the right, you know, the right ball in certain situations.”

Fonseca left Miami with clear takeaways: the intensity required against Sinner and the unpredictability and shot selection required against Alcaraz. Those lessons will travel with him into the clay season.

This preview focuses on three opening-round matchups at the Miami Open: Coco Gauff against Alycia Parks, Jannik Sinner’s first match after Indian Wells, and Naomi Osaka meeting an in-form qualifier.

Gauff’s meeting with Parks presents a contrast in trajectories. Parks is 25 and Gauff 22. Gauff has been embedded in the Top 5 for three years, while Parks is still seeking a consistent breakthrough. Parks brings a big frame and a big game: she is 6’1, has a title to her name and has been ranked as high as No. 40. She is 105th in the rankings now and recorded a 23-32 record in 2025. Their only prior encounter ended 6-0, 6-2 in Gauff’s favor. The immediate form mark for Parks is encouraging: she has won two main-draw matches in Miami, and she handled former WTA No. 2 Maria Sakkari in comfortable, 6-3, 6-3 fashion on Friday. The Miami courts can play quick, which will give Parks opportunities to tee off, but Gauff’s speed and consistency make her the likely favorite.

Winner: Gauff

Sinner arrives after an emotional and physical run at Indian Wells. If he needed rest, he benefited from the opening-day rain delay and the fact his side of the draw played last; he will take the court for the first time on Saturday, six days after IW ended. Not that he sounded tired on Sunday: he said Miami was “very important” to him. Last year at this time he was serving a doping-related suspension, so he has little to defend until Rome in May. He returns against the 33-year-old, 76th-ranked Dzumhur, a player Sinner has never faced. Dzumhur is 3-7 this season, is listed at 5’9 and will give up about six inches to Sinner. He does not bring a booming serve or heavy groundstroke power but will fight for every game.

Winner: Sinner

The night match to watch pairs Naomi Osaka with a 21-year-old Australian qualifier, Gibson. Gibson won two qualifying matches in Indian Wells, then beat three Top 20 opponents—Alexandrova, Tauson, and Paolini—on her way to the quarterfinals. In Miami she won two more in the qualies, and steamrolled Sara Bejlek 1 and 0 in the first round. Osaka, who spent much of her youth in this part of Florida, is 17-8 at the Miami Open with a final-round appearance in 2022. Gibson carries momentum; Osaka brings experience and a deeper well of confidence. Expect baseline power and aggressive court positioning from both players.

Carlos Alcaraz said he carried a bit of Luka Doncic’s evening into his match at the Miami Open, then delivered a steady performance to beat Joao Fonseca 6-4, 6-4. “I’m really lucky to witness what he did last night,” said Alcaraz, after putting on a show of his own at Hard Rock Stadium.

The world No. 1 had been in the stands on Thursday as the L.A. Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 134–126, with Doncic scoring 60 points. Alcaraz watched courtside at Kaseya Center and later met the Serbian star, with photos and videos of their interaction quickly circulating on social media.

On court Alcaraz translated that energy into control, closing out the anticipated second-round match in straight sets. Afterward he leaned into the comparison with a smile. CARLOS ALCARAZ: Well, I guess I just took his magic from last night (smiling).

Fans in yellow and green largely backed Fonseca at Hard Rock Stadium, but Alcaraz said their support was directed at the Brazilian rather than at him as an opponent. “I would like to say it wasn’t against me. It was supporting him,” Alcaraz said of the Brazilian fans’ loud cheering. “I think that’s a big difference… I would say they were respectful most of the match, just supporting him when they have to.”

He added that he “didn’t want to silence anybody” either, and described his own approach: “I wanted to just do my stuff, do my job and try to play my best, because I know Joao and what he’s able to do in a tennis court…

“I just tried to be focused, try not to hear anything from the crowd, and just going forward all the time. I’m just proud that I was able to do it.

“But at the same time, I just had so much fun with such a great atmosphere out there.”

Alcaraz will meet No. 32 seed Sebastian Korda in the third round as he looks to build on a night that began courtside and ended with a routine victory.