MIAMI GARDENS, FL – A rainout on Wednesday has reshaped the schedule for the Miami Open presented by Itau, with a packed Thursday lineup headlined by a compelling second-round matchup between #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Fonseca earned his place in the round of 32 with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Fabian Marozsan on Thursday, according to the ATP Tour. The win sets the stage for his first Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter against Alcaraz, the current World No. 1, who received a bye into the second round.
The 19-year-old Fonseca is relishing the opportunity to test himself against the top player in the world, having recently pushed Jannik Sinner to two tie-break sets in Indian Wells. “I’m excited for sure,” Fonseca said, as reported by the ATP Tour. “I don’t know about other players, but I look forward to playing against the top players. It’s just a super experience, so I’m looking forward to it for sure and it’s going to be a great match. Hopefully I can acquire the win.”
Alcaraz enters the match with a 16-1 record for the season, including title wins at the Australian Open and in Doha. This will be their first official ATP Tour contest, though they did meet in an exhibition match in Miami last December, according to Tennis365.com.
Thursday’s schedule also features a busy day of matches across multiple courts. Alexandra Eala of the Philippines will face Laura Siegemund of Germany in a WTA first-round match, even as Magda Linette will take on Iga Swiatek. Other notable ATP players in action include Grigor Dimitrov, Matteo Berrettini, Marin Cilic, Hubert Hurkacz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tournament Director James Blake has emphasized the growing popularity of Fonseca, noting the need to move his matches to larger venues to accommodate the enthusiastic Brazilian fanbase, as reported by the Miami Herald. The raucous support was evident during Fonseca’s matches at last year’s Miami Open, with fans chanting “FON-SAY-CAH” and “YAY-O!” alongside traditional soccer chants.
The Miami Open’s Thursday schedule includes 24 ATP Tour matches across six courts, beginning at 10 a.m. Local time. Stadium play is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. With Eala versus Siegemund.
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